4  * 


PRINCETON,  N.  J.  *^ 


Presented    by  W<2/\i  )jOYr\  ,Jr6  .^C^AV^DOT-oV^dln 


Divisio)! 
Section  ■■ 


SOS 


u 


A  DEFENCE 


OF  SOME 


IMPORTANT 


DOCTRINES  or  THE  GOSPEL, 


IN  TWENTY-SIX  SERMONS: 

PREACHED  AT  THE 

LIME  STREET  LECTURE, 


By  several  eminent  Ministtus. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
PRESBYTERIAN     BOARD    OF    PUBLICATION. 

PAUL  T,  JONES,  PUBLISHING  AGENT. 

1844. 


F'riiited  by 

WM.    S.    UTART-H' 


Sterentvped  bv  s.  douglas  wveth, 
Xo.  7  Pear  "St.,  Pliilaiielpliia. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


The  occasion  of  composing  these  discourses,  arose  from  a  num- 
ber of  gentlemen  in  London,  firmly  attached  to  the  interest  of 
our  divine  Redeemer,  and  filled  with  a  fervent  zeal  for  the 
purity  of  the  doctrines  of  revelation,  taking  into  their  consider- 
ation, that  many  evangelical  truths,  of  the  last  importance,  were 
not  only  secretly  undermined,  but  violently  opposed  in  their 
day,  by  subtle  adversaries  to  the  Gospel  scheme ,  and,  accord- 
ingly, they  judged  it  proper  to  set  up  a  public  Lecture,  that  a 
course  of  Sermons  might  be  preached  in  defence  of  sundry 
cardinal  doctrines,  then  so  openly  impugned. 

This  laudable  proposal  met  with  the  most  hearty  approba- 
tion, from  the  lovers  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  According- 
ly, nine*  ministers,  of  eminent  abilities,  who  had  distinguished 
themselves  in  the  world,  by  their  elaborate  writings,  and  who 
were  made  choice  of  for  this  undertaking,  cheerfully  engaged 
in  it.  Each  of  the  ministers,  by  mutual  consent,  had  the  res- 
pective point  of  doctrine  he  was  to  establish  and  defend  assigned 
him :  all  of  them  agreed,  that  the  different  subjects  should  be 
studied  with  the  greatest  accuracy  and  precision;  the  several 
divine  truths  set  in  the  clearest  point  of  view,  from  the  sacred 
records;  the  whole  discourses  composed  on  a  certain  plan,  and 
arranged  in  a  regular  and  connected  order.  These  prelimina- 
ries being  settled,  the  Lecture  was  begun  on  the  12th  of  No- 
vember, 1730,  and  continued  weekly  till  April  the  8th,  1731. 

The  capital  and  interesting  doctrines  handled  at  that  time, 
and  now  contained  in  this  volume,  after  an  introductory  dis- 
course, entitled.  The  SpiriVs  Standard  lifted  up,  and  display- 
ed against  Error,  are  the  following,  viz. — The  insufficiency 
of  natural  religion  evinced; — the  doctrine  of  particular  election, 
stated  and  defended; — the  doctrine  of  original  sin,  asserted  and 
defended; — the  Scripture  doctrine  of  particular  redemption, 
stated  and  vindicated; — the  doctrine  of  Christ's  sufferings  open- 
ed ; — a  plain  Scripture  account  of  a  sinner's  justification  before 
God; — the  doctrine  of  efficacious  grace,  asserted  and  vindicated; 
— the  doctrine  of  perseverance  in  grace,  stated  and  defended ; — 
^he  doctrine  of  the  resurrection,  opened  and  defended; — a  vin- 

*  Viz. — the  Rev.  Messrs.  Bragge,  Taylor,  Sladen,  Goodwin,  Hurrion,  Brad- 
bury,  Wilson,  Hall,  and  Dr.  Gill. 

3 


4  ADVERTISEMENT. 

dication  of  man's  salvation  by  the  free  grace  of  God,  from  the 
charge  of  promoting  heentiousness; — an  humble  and  impartial 
inquiry  into  the  causes  of  the  decay  of  practical  religion;  or  into 
the  true  grounds  of  the  declensions,  as  to  the  life  and  power  of 
godliness,  visible  in  such  as  profess  it  in  the  present  day.  ]\Iost 
of  these  important  subjects  consist  of  several  sermons. 

When  this  course  was  finished,  it  was  the  unanimous  desire 
of  the  gentlemen  who  set  the  Lecture  on  foot,  and  also  the 
earnest  "request  of  the  hearers,  that  the  ministers  would  print 
their  sermons:  this  being  signified  to  them,  they  all  readily 
complied  with  the  repeated  solicitations. 

If  the  publication  of  these  discourses  was,  at  that  time,  judged 
a  seasonable  present  to  the  church,  their  republication  now  can- 
not but  be  highly  expedient,  when  such  erroneous  tenets,  as  sap 
the  foundation  of  revealed  truth,  are  now  propagated,  and  have 
made  such  an  universal  spread  in  this  country;  and  when  the 
pure  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  are  so  visibly  corrupted  by  men  of 
depraved  minds,  who  impiously  arraign,  reproach,  and  pervert 
the  dictates  of  inspiration. 

The  discourses  themselves  contain  a  rich  mine  of  gospel- 
doctrine; — a  great  variety  of  judicious  sentiments; — a  clear 
explication  of" divine  truths; — and  a  strenuous  defence  of  a 
number  of  the  essential  articles  of  our  received  principles: — as 
such,  they  have  been  deservedly  esteemed  by  all  who  have 
perused  them. 

The  justly  celebrated,  and  singularly  pious  Mr.  Hervey, 
touching  on  one  of  the  important  articles,  treated  at  great  length 
in  these  volumes,  viz.  the  final  perseverance  of  the  saints, 
speaks  of  them  in  a  very  warm  manner;  his  words  are:*  "  The 
final  perseverance  of  the  saints  is  as  much  the  doctrine  of  the 
Bible,  as  justification  by  the  imputed  righteousness  of  Christ: 
the  latest  and  fullest  view  of  the  point,  which  I  ever  remember 
to  have  met  with,  in  any  of  our  English  writers,  is  in  the  Lime- 
street  Lectures;  which  are  a  defence  of  several  most  impor- 
tant doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  and  contained  in  one  octavo  vol- 
ume; the  united  labours  of  nine  modern  divines,  most  of  whom 
are  well  known  to  the  world  by  their  other  evangelical  and 
useful  writings.  In  these  lectures,  among  many  other  capital 
doctrines,  the  final  perseverance  of  the  saints  is  very  particular- 
ly stated,  and,  to  my  apprehension  at  least,  most  satisfactorily 
proved.  The  arguments  usually  urged  against  it,  are  impartial- 
ly considered;  and  I  cannot  but  think,  (with  all  due  deference 
to  the  judgment  of  others,)  unanswerably  confuted." 

London. 

*  Hervey'B  Works  in  folio,  p.  94,  in  octavo,  vol.  i.  p.  375,  376. 


PREFACE. 


When  doctrines  of  pure  revelation  are  opposed,  it  is  the  duty 
of  all  who  believe  them,  to  appear  in  their  defence;  and  this  is 
really  engaging  in  a  noble  cause;  it  is  standing  up  for  the  hon- 
our of  the  great  God,  against  those  who  set  their  imperfect  rea- 
son and  proud  conceits  above  infinite  wisdom;  to  strive  for  the 
faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,  is  most  necessary,  when  it 
meets  with  the  contradiction  of  sinners.  As  error  never  raged 
with  greater  violence  than  it  does  in  our  unhappy  times,  and  as 
lukewarmness  never  discovered  itself  more  than  in  the  present 
day  of  darkness,  it  never  could  be  more  expedient  than  now,  to 
plead  for  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God.  The  suffi- 
ciency of  the  light  of  nature  is  warmly  contended  for  by  some 
who  do  not  profess  to  reject  revelation ;  and  most  of  the  doctrines 
of  Scripture  have  been  given  up,  one  after  another,  by  some  who 
yet  declare  that  the  Bible  is  their  religion.  It  is  therefore  now 
time,  if  ever,  for  those  who  see  no  reason  to  renounce  the  old 
Protestant  doctrines,  the  glory  of  the  Reformation,  to  bear  their 
testimony  against  the  errors  of  the  day,  and  to  stand  up  for  the 
great  truths  which  have  been  handed  to  them  by  their  fathers, 
and  which  they  have  embraced,  not  merely  because  they  have 
received  them  from  the  worthies  who  have  gone  before  them, 
but  because,  after  strict  and  impartial  examination,  they  find 
that  these,  and  no  other,  are  the  doctrines  revealed  in  Scripture. 

Near  two  years  since,  some  gentlemen,  who,  it  is  to  be  hoped, 
have  a  true  zeal  and  a  hearty  concern  for  the  interest  of  Christ, 
judged  it  proper  to  set  up  a  Lecture,*  for  one  winter  and  spring 
season,  that  a  course  of  sermons  might  be  preached  in  defence 
of  several  truths,  which  they  reckoned  to  be  of  the  last  import- 
ance, and  which  are,  in  our  time,  violently  opposed.  Nine  min- 
isters, who  were  chosen  for  this  work,  cheerfully  undertook  it. 
When  this  course  was  finished,  it  was  the  unanimous  desire  of 
the  gentlemen  that  they  would  print  their  sermons;  with  which 
request  they  have  complied,  hoping  to  do  some  service,  if  it  is 
only  by  establishing  wavering  minds  in  the  great  doctrines 
which  are  now  matter  of  contest. 

These  discourses  we  now  submit  to  the  candid  perusal  of 
serious  and  judicious  persons.     We  have  not  entered  upon  the 

*  This  Lecture  was  begun  at  the  Meeting  in  Lime-Street,  where  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Bragge  statedly  preaches,  on  November  12th,  1730,  and  was  continued  weekly, 
till  April  8th,  1731  ^ 


b  PREFACE. 

direct  proof  of  the  truth  of  our  holy  religion,  because  it  was  not 
our  design  to  engage  with  proper  deists,  but  with  erroneous 
professors  of  Christianity.  The  great  doctrines  of  the  blessed 
Trinity  and  of  the  person  of  Christ  we  have  not  meddled  with ; 
seeing  several  of  us  have  treated  largely  upon  them  before,  and 
our  labours  are  in  many  hands.  Some  thoughts  which  we  had 
not  time  to  deliver  from  the  pulpit,  we  have  taken  the  liberty 
to  add.  The  bodily  indispositions  of  some  of  our  number,  which 
ended  in  death,  as  to  one*  who  was  a  real  credit  to  the  cause, 
have  occasioned  a  much  greater  delay  in  publishing  this  work 
than  was  apprehended  when  it  was  first  put  to  the  press,  which 
is  near  a  year  since. 

We  can  each  of  us  say,  as  to  ourselves,  that  we  have  advanced 
nothing  but  what  we  believe  to  be  true,  and  agreeable  to  Scrip- 
ture. If  any,  with  meekness,  gravity,  and  impartiality,  shall 
think  fit  to  object  against  what  we  have  laid  down,  we  hope  we 
shall  be  enabled  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  plead  for  the  things  of 
God;  being  desirous  of  nothing  more  than  to  establish  the  truth, 
as  it  is  in  Jesus.  But  if  any  should  pursue  us  with  rancour  and 
reviling,  with  banter  and  grimace,  we  shall  pass  by  such  treat- 
ment with  pity  and  silence.  Or,  should  they,  who  shall  be 
disposed  to  animadvert  upon  what  we  have  delivered  in  the 
following  sermons,  charge  upon  us  the  sentiments  of  particular 
persons,  we  shall  leave  those  concerned  to  vindicate  their  own 
tenets. 

We  recommend  the  whole  of  what  we  have  done  to  the  bless- 
ing of  that  good  Master  for  whose  glory  we  plead,  and  whose 
battles  we  fight;  and  we  would  humbly  hope  that  our  great 
God  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  the  word  of  whose  patience  we 
desire  to  keep,  and  in  defence  of  which  we  now  appear,  will 
make  our  endeavours  to  be  of  real  service,  to  establish  pious 
persons  in  the  belief  of  the  doctrines  in  dispute,  and  to  furnish 
them  with  some  weapons  to  repel  the  attacks  of  gainsayers. 

London, 
June  13th,  1732. 


*  The  Rev.  Jolin  Hurrion. 


CONTENTS. 


The  Holy  Spirit's  Standard  lifted  up,  and  displayed  against  Error ;  in  a  Sermon 

by  Mr.  Bragge,  on 
Isaiah  lix.  19. — When  the  enemy  shall  come  in  like  a  flood,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 

shall  lift  up  a  Standard  against  him, Page  9 

11. 

Of  the  Insufficiency  of  Natural  Religion,  in  two  Sermons,  by  Mr.  Taylor. 
The  First  Sermon  on 

1  Corinthians  ii.  14. — The  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of 
God,  for  they  are  foolishness  unto  him,  neither  can  he  know  them,  because  they 
are  spiritually  discerned, 24 

The  Second  Sermon  on 

Romans  i.  22. — Professing  themselves  to  be  wise,  they  became  fools,  -        44 

III. 

The  doctrine  of  Particular  Election,  stated  and  defended;  in  two  Sermons,  by 
Mr.  Sladen,  on 

2  Thessalonians  ii.  13. — We  are  bound  to  give  thanks  alway  to  God  for  you, 
brethren,  beloved  of  the  Lord,  because  God  has  from  the  beginning  chosen  you 
to  salvation,  through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit,  and  belief  of  the  truth,     66,  86 

IV. 

The  doctrine  of  Original  Sin,  stated  and  defended;  in   two  Sermons,  by  Mr. 

Goodwin. 
Tlie  First  Sermon,  of  the  Imputation  of  Adam's  Sin,  on 

Romans  v.  19. — By  one  man's  disobedience  many  were  made  sinners,      -         110 
The  Second  Sermon,  of  Original  Corruption,  on 
Psalji  Ii.  5. — Behold,  I  was  shapen  in  iniquity,  and  in  sin  did  my  mother  conceive 

me, 125 

V. 

The  Scripture  doctrine  of  Particular  Redemption,  stated  and  vindicated ;  in  four 

Sermons,  by  Mr.  Hurrion,  on 
Titus  ii.  14. — Jesus  Christ  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all 

iniquity,  and  purify  to  himself  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works,        141 

159,  177,  195 

VI. 

The  doctrine  of  Christ's  Sufferings  opened ;  in  three  Sermons,  by  Mr.  Brad- 

bury,  on 
Romans  viii.  32. — He  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for  us  all,  217, 

228,  238 
7 


8  CONTENTS. 

VII. 

A  plain  Scriptural  account  of  a  Sinner's  Justification  before  God ;  in  four  Ser- 
mens,  by  Mr.  Bragge,  on 

Galatians  ii.  16. — Knowing  that  a  man  is  not  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law, 
but  by  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ ;  even  we  have  believed  in  Jesus  Christ,  that  we 
mio-ht  be  justified  by  the  faith  of  Christ,  and  not  by  the  works  of  the  law ;  for 
by  "the  works  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh  be  justified,  252,  264,  275,  289 

VIII. 

The  doctrine  of  Efficacious  Grace,  asserted  and  vindicated ;  in  two  Sermons,  by 

Mr.  Wilson,  on 
Philippians  ii.  13. — It  is  God  who  worketh  in  you,  both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his 

good  pleasure, 302,  312 

IX. 

The  doctrine  of  Perseverance  in  Grace,  stated  and  defended ;  in  two  Sermons 

by  Mr.  Hall,  on 
Philippians  i.  6. — Being  confident  of  this  very  thing,  that  he  which  hath  begun  a 

good  work  in  you,  will  perform  it  until  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ,        -    327,  344 

X. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Resurrection,  stated  and  defended ;  in  Two  Sermons,  by  Dr. 

Gill,  on 
Acts  xxvi.  8. — Why  should  it  be  thought  a  thing  incredible  with  you,  that  God 

should  raise  the  dead  ? 369,  384 

XI. 

A  Vindication  of  the  evangelical  doctrine  of  Man's  Salvation  by  the  Free  Grace 
of  God,  from  the  charge  of  promoting  Licentiousness ;  in  a  Sermon,  by  Mr. 
Taylor,  on 

Romans  v.  20,  21.  vi.  1,  2. — Where  sin  abounded,  grace  did  much  more  abound  ; 
that  as  sin  hath  reigned  to  death,  even  so  might  grace  reign,  through  righteous- 
ness,  to  eternal  life,  by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  &c 413 

XII. 

A  humble  and  impartial  Inquiry  into  the  Causes  of  the  Decay  of  Practical 
Religion ;  or,  into  the  true  grounds  of  the  declensions,  as  to  the  life  and  power 
of  godliness,  visible  in  such  as  profess  it  in  the  present  day;  in  a  Sermon,  by 
Mr.  Taylor,  on 

Revelation  iii.  1 — 3. — To  the  angel  of  the  church  in  Sardis  write.  These  things 
saith  he  that  hath  the  seven  spirits  of  God,  and  the  seven  stars ;  I  know  thy 
works,  that  thou  hast  a  name  that  thou  livest,  and  art  dead  :  be  watchful,  and 
strengthen  the  things  which  remain,  and  are  ready  to  die ;  for  I  have  not  found 
thy  works  perfect  before  God,  &c 447 


THE 

SPIRIT'S  STANDARD 

LIFTED  UP  AND  DISPLAYED  AGAINST  ERROR: 
A  SERMON,   / 

BY   MR.   ROBERT  BRAGGE, 

MINISTER   OF  THE   GOSPEL. 


Isaiah  lix.  19. — When  the  enemy  shall  come  in  like  a  flood,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
shall  lift  up  a  standard  against  him. 

It  is  a  glorious  truth,  which  reflects  light  on  the  whole  gospel, 
and  adds  lustre  to  all  the  works  of  God,  that  whatever  God 
does,  or  suffers  to  be  done,  be  it  in  the  church,  or  in  the  world, 
is  for  the  manifestation  of  his  own  glory.  To  this  great  end, 
that  his  glory  may  shine  forth  the  brighter,  his  works  of  nature 
are  made  to  subserve  his  designs  of  love  and  grace:  the  first 
Adam,  at  the  head  of  this  lower  creation,  was  but  the  figure  of 
him  that  was  to  come.  Dark  and  dismal  as  the  veil  is  which  sin 
has  spread  over  all  nations,  and  great  as  the  confusion  is  which 
it  has  hurled  quite  round  the  globe,  all  in  the  end  will  be  so 
overruled,  as  to  be  an  eternal  illustration  of  the  glory  of  God, 
as  it  shines  forth  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  scattering 
caused  by  sin  would  not  have  been  suffered,  but  to  make  way 
for  the  gathering  together  of  the  whole  election  of  the  Father's 
grace,  in  a  far  more  glorious  Head ;  of  which  you  read,  Eph.  i. 
10.  "  That  in  the  dispensation  of  the  fulness  of  times,  he  might 
gather  together  in  one  all  things  in  Christ,  both  which  are  in 
heaven,  and  which  are  on  earth,  even  in  him."  Full  as  hell  is 
of  darkness,  the  glory  of  God's  vindictive  justice  shhies  brightly 
therein:  and  full  as  the  enemies  are  of  wrath,  be  they  men  or 
devils,  all  their  wrath  shall  be  made  to  praise  God. 

I  shall  not  consider  these  words  in  their  connexion;  so  to  do, 
would  take  up  too  much  of  your  time :  but,  in  speaking  to  them^ 
I  shall  observe  the  following  method: 

I.  Who  the  enemy  is  whom  the  text  speaks  of,  shall  be  my 
first  inquiry. 

II.  Why  the  enemy  is  at  any  time  suffered  to  come  in  like  a 
flood,  shall  be  my  next. 

III.  I  shall  let  you  see  how  remarkably  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
has  all  along  lifted  up  a  standard  against  them. 

2  9 


10  THE    spirit's    standard 

IV.  I  shall  produce  the  standard  which  we,  who  are  set  for 
the  defence  of  the  gospel,  should,  as  enabled  by  the  Spirit,  be 
now  lifting  up. 

V.  Who  the  present  enemy  is,  which  threatens  to  come  in 
like  a  flood,  shall  be  my  last  inquiry:  And  so  I  shall  acquaint 
you  with  the  design  of  this  Lecture;  and  conclude  with  the  joint 
request  of  the  Lecturers. 

I.  I  shall  begin  with  the  first  of  these ;  which  is  to  tell  yon, 
who  the  enemy  is,  my  text  speaks  of 

The  truly  gracious,  of  any  denomination,  are  not  to  be  num- 
bered among  the  enemy.  These  may  difl'er  among  themselves, 
and  labour  under  mistakes  about  less  matters;  but  "being  one 
spirit  with  the  Lord,  they  are  enabled,  whereunto  they  have 
attained,  to  walk  by  the  same  rule."  Being  taught  of  God, 
they  are  brought  to  acknowledge  every  good  thing  in  Christ, 
that  is  to  be  found  in  one  another;  according  to  that  golden 
rule,  which  regulates  the  communion  of  saints,  Philem.  6. 
"  That  the  communication  of  thy  faith  may  become  effectual, 
by  the  acknowledging  of  every  good  thing  which  is  in  you  in 
Christ  Jesus."  Was  this  rule  of  Christian  fellowship  more 
observed,  we  should  differ  without  falling  out.  The  unity  of 
the  Spirit  would  be  preserved,  at  another  rate  than  it  is,  in 
the  bond  of  peace ;  neither  would  the  people  of  God  kindle  fire 
on  earth,  or  call  for  fire  from  heaven  to  devour  one  another. 
Neither  babes,  nor  men,  nor  fathers  in  Christ,  are  the  enemies 
my  text  speaks  of;  but  the  seed  of  the  serpent  are;  who,  in 
numberless  instances,  have  discovered  and  are  still  discovering 
their  bitter  enmity  against  the  seed  of  the  woman.  The  people 
of  God,  whose  New  Testament  name  is  that  of  the  saints,  and 
faithful  in  Christ  Jesus,  have  all  along  had  their  enemies. 
Righteous  Abel  had  a  cruel  enemy — bloody  Cain.  Thus  the 
patriarch  Jacob  had  a  fierce  enemy — profane  Esau.  Jacob,  to 
be  sure,  took  a  wrong  step  to  obtain  the  blessing;  who  was 
suffered  thus  to  come  at  it,  that  it  might  appear  he  deserved  it 
no  more  than  did  profane  Esau,  who  discovered  the  plague 
and  enmity  of  his  heart,  by  resolving  on  the  death  of  his  brother. 
Thus  Israel,  under  the  Old  Testament,  had  many  and  fierce 
enemies;  there  was  Pharaoh,  king  of  Egypt,  with  his  cruel 
counsellors:  there  was  Goliath  of  Gath,  with  his  Philistines; 
there  was  Sennacherib,  king  of  Assyria,  with  his  railing  Rab- 
shakeh;  there  was  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon,  with 
many  more.  Their  own  idolatrous  kings  were  some  of  Israel's 
worst  enemies;  who  were  so  outrageously  wicked,  as  not  only 
to  lay  aside  the  worship  of  the  true  God,  but  to  place  their  idols 
in  his  temple:  the  calves  at  Dan  and  Bethel  were  very  provo- 
king, but  idols  in  the  temple  itself  were  more  so. 

The  top  instance  of  the  enmity  which  lives  and  reigns  in  the 


DISPLAYED    AGAINST   ERROR.  II 

seed  of  the  serpent,  is  the  treatment  which  Christ  and  his  apos- 
tles met  with,  in  tlie  fulness  of  time,  among  the  Jews,  and 
wherewith  his  gospel  and  witnesses  are  still  treated.  One 
would  have  thought,  that  considering  who  Christ  was,  and  on 
what  kind  errand  he  came,  he  should  have  had  no  enemy, 
especially  among  his  own :  the  prophecies  relating  to  the  suf- 
ferings of  the  INIessiah,  were  as  unlikely  to  have  had  their  ac- 
complishment, as  that  of  the  kings  of  Europe  consenting  to 
give  away  their  power  to  the  heast :  hut  accomplished  they 
were,  which  is  a  wonderful  proof  of  the  truth  of  the  Christian 
religion.  Never  had  any  more  enemies,  nor  fiercer,  than  Christ 
had.  They  who  waited  for  the  consolation  of  Israel,  were  his 
friends;  but  how  few  were  they?  The  rest,  from  them  that 
sat  in  the  gate,  to  them  that  deserved  the  stocks,  were  his  ene- 
mies: he  was  the  song  of  drunkards,  as  well  as  the  envy  of  the 
Sanhedrim.  His  brethren  did  not  believe  in  him,  which  was  a 
plain  proof  he  was  no  cheat;  for  had  he  been  so,  to  be  sure  his 
brethren  would  have  been  let  into  the  secret;  and  his  near  kins- 
folks went  forth  to  take  him:  he  passed  for  an  enemy  to  Ceesar 
among  the  rulers,  and  for  a  madman  among  his  relations. 

Thus  his  apostles,  during  the  course  of  their  ministry,  had 
their  enemies;  few  died  a  natural,  but  most  a  violent  death; 
sealing  the  testimony  they  bore  to  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus, 
with  their  blood.  How  was  persecuting  Saul  persecuted,  when 
he  came  to  be  a  Christian!  Hell  soon  turned  the  tables  upon 
him,  and  was  in  an  uproar  against  him.  Thus  the  primitive 
saints  had  their  enemies,  both  at  Rome  and  at  Jerusalem,  and 
every  where  else.  Wherever  the  seed  of  the  woman  had  any 
footing,  the  seed  of  the  serpent  sent  out  a  flood  of  persecution  to 
destroy  them.  Witness  the  ten  bloody  persecutions  under  Rome 
Pagan;  which  have  been  outdone  by  Rome  Antichristian:  the 
dragon  filled  himself  with  the  blood  of  the  saints ;  but  the  scarlet 
whore  has  often  made  herself  drunk  therewith.  In  the  massacre 
at  Paris,  she  drank  the  blood  of  a  hundred  thousand  Protes- 
tants; and  of  three  hundred  thousand  in  that  of  Ireland;  and  of 
a  million  in  that  great  persecution  of  the  Waldenses,  and  of  the 
Albigenses.  How  did  she  begin  to  glut  herself  with  English 
blood  during  the  short  reign  of  bloody  queen  Mary !  Our  civil 
rights,  as  Englishmen,  have  all  along  had  their  enemies:  how 
forward  were  many  during  the  reigns  of  king  Charles  and  of 
king  James,  to  have  introduced  slavery,  as  well  as  popery? 
And  are  there  not  still  among  us  some  who  would  be  glad, 
were  the  prince  absolute,  and  the  clergy  independent?  Has 
the  Reformation  no  enemies  among  us?  Are  all  dead  and  gone, 
who  hate  to  be  reformed? 

Thus  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  have  all  along  had,  and  still 
have  their  enemies.  The  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  had  so ; 
of  which  number  were  Hymeneus  and  Philetus,  who  said  it 


12  THE    spirit's   standard 

was  past  already,  1  Tim.  i.  20.  And  so  had  the  doctrine  of 
Christ's  true  and  proper  divinity,  of  his  incarnation,  of  his  satis- 
faction, of  his  imputed  righteousness,  and  of  his  efficacious 
grace. — Thus  much  may  suffice,  by  way  of  answer  to  the  first 
inquir5^ 

II.  My  next  inquiry  is  this:  why  is  the  enemy  suffered  at 
any  time,  thus  to  come  in  like  a  flood?  To  which  I  answer, 
in  six  things. 

1.  It  is  for  the  manifestation  of  His  glory,  who  works  all 
things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will,  thus  to  suffer  it;  who 
can  awd  will  bring  glory  to  himself,  even  praise,  which  is  the 
top  of  glory,  out  of  all  the  instances  and  attacks  of  the  enemies' 
wrath,  Psal.  Ixxvi.  10.  "The  wrath  of  man  shall  praise  thee;" 
which  holds  as  true  of  the  wrath  of  devils.  Had  not  Christ, 
the  seed  of  the  woman,  been  an  overmatch  for  Satan,  one  abun- 
dantly able  to  bruise  his  head,  the  old  serpent  had  not  been 
suffered  to  enter  paradise,  nor  to  tempt  our  first  parents,  and 
last  of  all  to  prevail :  but  super-creating  grace  would  have  inter- 
posed; for  to  be  sure,  that  grace,  whence  is  our  recovery  by 
Christ  the  second  Adam/ could  have  prevented  our  fall  in  the 
first.  Were  not  the  King  of  saints  able  to  cast  the  man  of  sin, 
as  a  millstone,  into  the  sea  of  God's  judicial  wrath,  to  rise  up 
no  more  for  ever.  Antichrist  had  not  been  suffered  to  show  him- 
self, and  much  less  to  wear  a  triple  crown  at  Rome;  the  doing 
of  which  will  outshine  Israel's  deliverance  out  of  Egypt,  and 
Pharaoh's  being  drowned  in  the  Red  Sea.  By  this  Christ  will 
get  unto  himself  a  glorious  name  of  praise,  and  be  eternally 
exalted ;  whose  glory,  as  man  and  mediator,  will  be  but  the 
greater,  in  God's  salvation,  for  all  the  opposition  it  meets  with 
from  the  enemy.  It  is  with  Christ,  the  Sun  of  righteousness, 
as  it  is  with  the  natural  sun ;  we  may  darken  our  houses,  and 
shut  out  the  light,  but  cannot  darken  the  sun:  should  all  eyes 
be  put  out,  the  sun  would  remain  as  full  of  light  as  ever;  the 
seeing  eye  adds  nothing  to  the  shining  sun,  that  is  the  same 
whether  the  horizon  be  full  of  clouds,  or  without  them;  its  light 
and  heat  are  but  the  more  manifested  and  recommended,  by 
our  winter  seasons  and  long  nights. 

2.  It  is  also  for  the  trial  and  exercise  of  all  his  people's  graces 
that  this  is  suffered.  As  the  cash  of  the  nation  should  not  be 
locked  up,  nor  hoarded,  but  traded  with;  so  the  graces  of  the 
Spirit  are  talents  of  such  worth  and  usefulness,  that  God  will 
not  have  them  hid  in  napkins.  Untried  faith  is  uncertain  faith, 
which  holds  true  of  the  rest  of  our  graces.  Had  not  Abraham's 
faith  been  tried,  he  had  not  been  called  in  the  word  of  God,  the 
father  of  the  faithful,  a  higher  title  than  his  being  the  father 
of  many  nations,  or  Adam's  being  the  father  of  all  mankind. 
The  trials  and  temptations  of  the  people  of  God  cannot  be  set  in 
a  sweeter  light  than  they  are,  by  the  apostle  Peter,  1  Pet.  i.  6,  7. 


DISPLAYED   AGAINST   ERROR.  13 

"Wherein  ye  greatly  rejoice,  though  now  for  a  season,  if  need 
be,  ye  are  in  heaviness,  through  manifold  temptations:  that 
the  trial  of  your  faith  being  much  more  precious  than  of  gold 
that  perisheth,  though  it  be  tried  with  fire,  might  be  found  unto 
praise,  and  honour,  and  glory,  at  the  appearing  of  Jesus  Christ." 
Faith  alone,  because  of  its  usefulness,  is  here  mentioned;  but 
all  other  graces  are,  doubtless,  included.  How  shall  the  fol- 
lowers of  the  Lamb  be  brought  off  more  than  conquerors  in  the 
end,  if  they  meet  with  no  enemies  in  the  way?  Faith's  victo- 
ries suppose  a  field  of  battle;  a  flesh  lusting  against  the  Spirit, 
a  tempting  world,  and  a  raging  devil.  Mean  and  contemptible 
as  the  followers  of  the  Lamb  are,  in  the  eye  of  the  world,  they 
will  outshine  all  its  Cassars  in  the  day  of  Christ's  appearance. 
"  Thanks  be  to  God,  who  giveth  us  the  victory,"  will  be  their 
tribute  of  praise  above  in  glory;  for  none  in  heaven  sacrifice  to 
their  own  net,  nor  burn  incense  to  their  own  drag;  but  shout 
grace,  grace,  and  will  do  so  for  ever. 

3.  It  is  to  rouse  and  awaken  the  wise  virgins  that  this  is  suf- 
fered; who,  in  slumbering  and  sleeping  with  the  foolish,  act 
below  their  character,  as  they  are  God's  witnesses,  and  God's 
remembrancers;  who  are  to  buy  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  at 
any  rate,  but  to  part  with  it  for  no  price:  they  are  also  to  give 
the  JNIost  High  no  rest,  until  he  so  establish  Jerusalem,  as  to 
make  it  the  praise  of  the  whole  earth.  Now,  a  sleepy,  drowsy, 
lukewarm,  indifierent  frame  ill  becomes  persons  who  are  placed 
by  God  in  so  high  a  post,  on  whose  diligence  and  watchfulness 
so  much  depends. 

4.  Tills  is  suffered,  that  the  followers  of  the  Lamb  may  take 
unto  themselves  the  whole  armour  of  God;  no  piece  of  which 
can  well  be  spared;  neither  the  girdle  of  truth,  than  which  no- 
thing is  more  dreaded  by  the  father  of  lies ;  nor  the  breast-plate 
of  righteousness,  that  is,  of  Christ's  imputed  suretiship  righteous- 
ness, which  defends  and  screens  the  heart  from  the  thunders 
of  the  law,  as  a  broken  covenant,  and  from  the  lashes  of  con- 
science for  the  breach  thereof:  neither  can  the  saint's  shoe  be 
anymore  missed,  than  the  saint's  breast-plate;  for  the  gospel 
of  peace,  received  in  the  love  of  it,  promotes  practical  godliness 
more  than  all  the  thunders  of  Sinai.  And  as  for  the  shield  of 
faith,  we  all  need  to  be  further  taught  how  to  manage  it:  it  is 
among  our  graces  like  the  sun  among  the  planets;  neither  can 
we,  who  are  as  brands  plucked  out  of  the  burning,  be  without 
the  helmet  of  salvation,  or  lay  aside  the  sword  of  the  Spirit, 
which  is  the  word  of  God;  because  'we  wrestle  not  with  flesh 
and  blood,  but  with  principalities  and  powers,  and  with  spiritual 
wickednesses  in  high  places;'  with  the  rulers  of  the  darkness 
of  this  world,  who  sit  at  the  helm  at  Rome,  at  Constantinople, 
in  the  East  and  West  Indies. 

5.  This  is  sufl'ered  to  put  those  who  are  one  spirit  with  the 


14  THE    spirit's    standard 

Lord,  upon  looking  up  for  a  fresh  anointing.  Your  having  had 
him  as  the  former  rain,  in  your  regeneration,  should  encourage 
you  to  ask,  and  to  expect  him  as  the  latter  rain,  to  the  end  of  life : 
who,  as  certainly  as  he  has  laid  the  first,  will  bring  forth  the 
top-stone  with  shouting,  not  the  Arminian  shout  of  free  will,  but 
that  of  free  grace  unto  it.  To  war  as  well  as  to  worship  in  the 
Spirit,  is  what  all  the  followers  of  the  Lamb  are  called  to :  Satan 
is  sure  of  victory  whenever  you  go  forth  against  him  in  your  own 
spirits;  a  look  unto  Christ,  your  Head,  for  a  fresh  anointing,  is 
of  the  utmost  consequence,  when  we  are  called  forth  to  battle. 

6.  I  may  add,  this  is  sutfered,  to  baffle  and  confound  the  ene- 
my, who  have  missed  the  mark,  as  oft  as  they  have  bent  their 
bow,  and  shot  their  arrows.  Thus  they  missed  it,  in  putting 
Pharaoh  upon  destroying  the  males  in  Israel,  as  soon  as  born ; 
for  then  was  Moses,  Israel's  deliverer,  born,  who  had  not  been 
taken  up  by  Pharaoh's  daughter,  and  educated  in  all  the  learning 
of  the  Egyptians,  had  not  his  parents  been  forced  to  expose  him. 
Never  was  Satan  more  desirous  to  accomplish  any  thing  than 
the  death  of  Christ;  who,  by  dying,  destroyed  him  that  hath  the 
power  of  death,  that  is  the  devil:  where  the  enemy  hoped  to 
have  triumplied  over  him,  he  spoiled  them ;  whose  cross  proved 
their  overthrow,  and  his  resurrection  their  entire  defeat.  Thus 
in  the  pit  which  they  dug  for  Christ,  were  their  own  feet  taken. 

III.  I  shall  now  give  you  some  mcmorahh  instances  of  the 
enemy's  coming  in  like  a  flood ;  and  let  you  see  how  victori- 
ously the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  hath,  all  along,  lifted  up  a  standard 
against  him. 

1.  How  like  a  flood  did  the  gates  of  hell  come  in  upon  all 
mankind,  when  the  old  serpent  had  artfully  drawn  our  first 
parents  into  sin !  Then,  if  ever,  was  there  joy  in  hell ;  but  hell's 
joy  was  but  like  a  flash  of  lightning;  for  in  "the  evening  of  that 
dark  and  gloomy  day,  did  the  glorious  light  of  the  gospel  first 
break  forth.  That  the  old  serpent  was  by  when  the  threatening 
was  pronounced,  is  very  manifest,  he  being  the  first  that  was 
sentenced:  to  whom  the  first  promise,  if  it  was  understood  by 
him,  must  have  been  like  a  clap  of  thunder,  before  which  he 
fell ;  who,  as  he  had  gained  his  point,  so  he  was  to  receive  his 
death's  wound  by  the  instrumentality  of  a  woman ;  for  it  was 
her  seed,  and  not  the  man's,  that  was  to  bruise  his  head.  The 
standard  of  the  first  promise  virtually  contained  in  it  all  after- 
promises;  for  the  incarnation,  death,  and  resurrection  of  Christ, 
are  all  three  plainly  hinted  at,  and  foretold  thereby;  his  incar- 
nation, in  his  being  called  the  seed  of  the  woman,  who  was  to 
be  born  of  a  virgin;  his  death  and  sufterings,  by  which  his  heel 
is  most  aptly  and  elegantly  said  to  be  bruised;  his  resun-ection 
and  victory,  by  wliich  he  etTectually  bruised  the  serpent's  head. 

2.  How  like  a  flood  did  the  enemy  come  in,  first  in  oppress- 
ing, and  then  in  pursuing  Israel !     That  Israel's  name  might 


DISPLAYED   AGAINST   ERROR.  15 

be  extinguished,  Israel's  males  were  ordered  to  be  drowned, 
as  soon  as  born;  and  though  God  had,  by  an  high  hand  of 
power  delivered  his  people  out  of  Egypt,  Pharaoh  resolved  to 
pursue,  with  a  prospect  of  overtaking  and  dividing  the  spoil: 
but  how  awful,  as  well  as  remarkable,  was  the  standard  which 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  lifted  up  against  Pharaoh  and  his  host, 
by  drowning  them  in  the  Red  Sea;  who  were  first  infatuated, 
and  so  destroyed. 

3.  How  like  a  flood  did  the  Assyrians  come  in  against  Judah ! 
Their  defenced  cities  were  taken,  and  Jerusalem  besieged  by 
an  army  of  an  hundred  and  fourscore  and  five  thousand  men, 
all  full  of  rage  and  rancour  against  Israel,  if  any  judgment 
may  be  formed  of  them  by  Rabshakeh's  railing  letter.  But 
good  Hezekiah,  instead  of  returning  railing  for  railing,  gave 
himself  to  prayer;  in  answer  to  which,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
lifted  such  a  standard,  as  eiFectually  brought  about  Israel's 
deliverance ;  for  the  angel  of  the  Lord  went  forth,  and  smote, 
in  one  night,  an  hundred  and  fourscore  and  five  thousand  of  the 
Assyrians. 

4.  How  like  a  flood  did  the  enemy  come  in,  in  the  reign  of 
king  Ahasuerus ;  when  wicked  Haman  resolved  by  way  of 
revenge,  on  the  destruction  of  all  the  Jews!  Not  only  they  in 
Shushan  were  to  be  killed,  both  young  and  old,  little  children 
and  women,  in  one  day;  but  they  from  India  to  Ethiopia,  even 
all  that  were  to  be  found  residing  in  any  part  of  the  king's 
dominions,  who  reigned  over  an  hundred  and  seven  and  twenty 
provinces.  But  how  remarkable  was  the  standard  which  the 
Spirit  lifted  up  against  him !  Wicked  Haman  was  hanged  on 
the  gallows  he  had  prepared  for  Mordecai;  and  the  Jews  every 
where  were  victorious  over  their  blood-thirsty  enemies,  of  whom 
they  slew  seventy-five  thousand. 

5.  How  like  a  flood  did  the  enemy  come  in,  in  that  hour  of 
darkness,  of  which  Christ  speaks,  Luke  xxii.  53,  "But  this  is 
your  hour,  and  the  power  of  darkness."  In  it  the  enemy  got 
Christ  betrayed,  denied,  and  crucified ;  and  to  make  all  sure, 
requested  Pilate  that  the  grave  might  be  secured;  accordingly, 
they  set  a  watch,  and  sealed  the  stone.  But  how  glorious  was 
the  standard  which  the  Spirit  lifted  up  in  the  early  resurrection 
of  Christ!  Mat.  xxviii.  2,  3,  4:  "Behold  there  was  a  great 
earthquake ;  for  the  angel  of  the  Lord  descended  from  heaven, 
and  came  and  rolled  back  the  stone  from  the  door,  and  sat  upon 
it;  his  countenance  was  like  lightning,  and  his  raiment  white 
as  snow;  and  for  fear  of  him  the  keepers  did  shake,  and  became 
as  dead  men." 

6.  In  the  ten  bloody  persecutions  raised  by  Rome  Pagan, 
Satan  came  in  like  a  flood,  hoping  to  crush  the  church  in  its 
infancy;  but  such  and  so  glorious  was  the  standard  which  the 
Spirit,  in  those  early  days,  lifted  up  against  him,  that  the  blood 


16  THE    spirit's    standard 

of  the  martyrs  became  the  seed  of  the  church.  As  in  Egypt, 
the  more  the  Israehtes  were  oppressed,  the  more  they  multi- 
phed;  so  the  primitive  Christians  propagated  the  gospel,  by 
their  suflerings  for  it ;  the  patience  tliey  acted,  and  their  pray- 
ing for  their  persecutors,  overcame  many  of  them;  and  the 
sealing  of  their  testimony  with  their  blood  made  their  testimony 
but  the  more  regaixled. 

7.  How  like  a  flood  did  the  enemy  come  in,  in  the  rise  and 
progress  of  Antichrist,  who  is  drawn  and  described  to  the  life 
in  the  prophecies  of  the  New  Testament !  Hardly  a  circum- 
stance of  any  consequence  is  there  omitted,  from  the  word  mys- 
tery, writ  on  his  forehead,  to  his  making  merchandize  of  the 
souls  of  men.  But  how  glorious  and  successful  was  the  stand- 
ard which  the  Spirit  lifted  up  in  the  Reformation !  though  the 
man  of  sin  was  then  in  his  height  of  power,  saying,  in  his  heart, 
he  should  never  be  moved;  the  first  Reformers  were  in  Christ's 
hand  an  overmatch  for  him,  by  whose  ministry  he  received  such 
a  wound,  as  will  never  be  healed. 

8.  To  conclude  this  head.  A  little  before  Satan's  binding, 
and  immediately  after  his  being  loosed,  he  is  to  come  in  like  a 
flood.  A  little  before  his  binding,  he  is  to  come  in  like  a  flood 
in  latter-day  darkness;  of  which  you  have  a  very  humbling 
account:  2  Tim.  ii.  1,  &c.  "This  know,  that  in  the  last  days 
perilous  times  shall  come;  for  men  shall  be  lovers  of  their  own 
selves,  covetous,  boasters,  proud,  blasphemers,  disobedient  to 
parents,  unthankful,  unholy,  without  natural  affection,  trace- 
breakers,  false  accusers,  incontinent,  fierce,  despisers  of  those 
that  are  good,  traitors,  heady,  high  minded,  lovers  of  pleasure 
more  than  lovers  of  God,  having  a  form  of  godliness,  but  deny- 
ing the  power  thereof:"  and  likewise  in  getting  the  witnesses 
slain,  who  are  the  saints  and  faithful  in  Christ  Jesus;  such 
as  bear  their  testimony  against  error  to  the  truth,  as  it  is 
in  Jesus,  who  are  to  prophesy  in  sackcloth,  during  the  long 
reign  of  Antichrist ;  towards  the  close  of  which,  the  beast  out 
of  the  bottomless  pit  is  to  make  war  with  them,  and  to  over- 
come and  kill  them ;  and  the  dead  bodies  are  to  lie  in  the  street 
of  the  great  city,  which  spiritually  is  called  Sodom  and  Egypt, 
where  also  our  Lord  was  crucified:  which  great  street  seems 
to  me  to  be  Europe,  which  is  the  most  trading,  populous,  and 
improved  part  of  the  first  Adam's  world,  which  is  the  great 
city  that  is  deservedly  called  Sodom  and  Egypt,  into  which 
Christ  was  born,  and  in  which  he  was  crucified.  But  how 
glorious  is  the  standard  which  the  Spirit,  in  those  last  days 
will  raise  up  against  the  enemy !  of  which  you  read.  Rev.  xi. 
11:"  After  three  days  and  a  half,  the  spirit  of  life  from  God 
entered  into  them;  and  they  stood  upon  their  feet,  and  great 
fear  fell  upon  them  that  saw  them ;  and  the  same  hour  there 
was  a  great  earthquake,  and  the  tenth  part  of  the  city  fell." 


DISPLAYED    AGA.INST   ERROR.  17 

Rome's  downfall  seems  to  be  the  immediate  consequence  of 
their  resurrection ;  which  is  followed  by  latter-day  glory,  chap, 
xi.  15,  "  And  the  seventh  angel  sounded,  and  there  were  great 
voices  in  heaven,  saying,  The  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  be- 
come the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord,  and  of  his  Christ." 

After  Satan  is  loosed,  he  will  be  suflered  to  come  in  like  a 
flood,  which  will  be  his  last  effort,  and,  of  consequence,  his 
boldest  and  fiercest  onset,  of  which  you  read,  chap.  xx.  7,  &c. 
"  When  the  thousand  years  are  expired,  Satan  shall  be  loosed 
out  of  his  prison,  and  shall  go  to  deceive  the  nations,  which  are 
in  the  four  quarters  of  the  earth,  (where  America,  which  is  the 
fourth  quarter  of  the  earth,  is  plainly  pointed  at,)  Gog  and 
Magog,  to  gather  them  together  to  battle  ;  the  number  of  whom 
is  as  the  sand  of  the  sea :  and  they  went  up  on  the  breadth  of 
the  earth,  and  compassed  the  camp  of  the  saints  about,  and  the 
beloved  city;  and  fire  came  down  from  God  out  of  heaven,  and 
devoured  them."  By  which  fire,  it  is  highly  probable,  the  first 
Adam's  world  will  be  burnt  up ;  of  which  the  apostle  Peter 
speaks,  1  Peter  iii.  7,  for,  in  tlie  close  of  this  chapter,  you  have 
an  account  of  judgment,  and  of  the  perdition  of  ungodly  men; 
and  at  the  beginning  of  the  following  chapter,  of  a  new  heaven 
and  of  a  new  earth. 

IV.  I  shall  next  observe  what  the  standard  is,  which  we, 
who  preach  the  gospel,  should  now  be  lifting  up. 

1.  Negatively.  Not  ihe  standard  of  a  Plato,  nor  of  a  Seneca, 
which  is  that  of  carnal  reason,  supported  by  philosophy,  and 
varnished  over  with  a  show  of  morality;  which  can  no  more 
supply  the  place  of  the  gospel,  than  the  dim  light  and  shine  of 
the  moon  and  the  stars  can  supply  the  place,  or  make  up  for 
the  want  of  the  light  and  warm  beams  of  the  sun.  Though 
the  mind  of  man  was  originally  the  candle  of  the  Lord,  it  is 
blown  out  by  sin  into  a  stinking  snuflT:  witness  the  stench  of 
idolatry  and  superstition  the  world  has  for  so  many  ages  past 
been  filled  with.  Neither  is  the  standard,  we  should  lift  up, 
that  of  Antichrist ;  which  is  fire  and  fagot,  with  all  the  instru- 
ments of  cruelty,  which  a  raging  devil  could  invent,  or  a  bloody 
inquisition  make  use  of;  who,  in  making  converts,  prove  them- 
selves to  be  none  of  Christ's  disciples,  who  came  not  to  destroy 
men's  lives,  but  to  save  them.  Rome's  cruelties  are  the  reverse 
of  Christ's  bowels.  Neither  is  the  standard  we  are  to  lift  up, 
that  of  Mahomet,  whose  weapons  were  carnal,  and  not  spiritual: 
such  as  flattery,  and  the  force  of  arms,  polygamy,  and  a  carnal 
paradise ;  who,  instead  of  foretelling  sufferings,  promised  vic- 
tory; and  instead  of  working  miracles,  was  full  of  debaucheries. 
Neither  is  the  standard  we  are  to  lift  up,  that  of  the  Jews ; 
which  is  that  of  fables,  and  romantic  traditions,  of  which  their 
Talmud,  and  the  other  writings,  are  full ;  who,  though  they 
have  the  Old  Testament  entire,  and  the  free  use  thereof,  yet  it 

3 


18  THE    spirit's    standard 

is  to  them  as  a  sealed  book,  the  veil  of  their  hearts  not  being 
taken  away.  This  they  kept  for  ns,  as  we  do  the  New  Testa- 
ment for  them.  In  a  word,  the  standard  we  are  to  lift  up,  is 
not  that  of  any  party,  in  opposition  to  Christ,  whose  written 
word  is  the  touch-stone  of  all  we  preach,  and  of  all  we  print 
To  this  one  and  only  standard  of  truth,  and  warrant  of  the  re- 
formation, we  are  ready  to  bring  all  our  sermons,  confessions, 
catechisms,  and  bodies  of  divinity:  by  this  we  endeavour  both 
to  preach  and  to  pray,  to  walk  and  to  worship. 

2.  Having  thus  returned  a  negative,  I  shall  return  a  positive 
answer  to  this  great  inquiry;  what  is  the  standard  which  such 
as  preach  the  gospel  should  lift  up  ?  To  which  I  answer;  the 
same,  for  substance,  which  Moses  and  all  the  prophets  lifted  up, 
under  the  Old  Testament;  which  was  Christ,  in  type  or  figure, 
and  which  the  apostles  and  evangelists  lifted  up,  under  the  New, 
which  was  Christ  without  a  veil.  Christ,  as  he  is  God's  salva- 
tion, or  the  truth,  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  is  the  standard  we  should  be 
lifting  up.  This,  like  the  canopy  of  heaven,  is  of  a  vast  extent, 
and  would  employ  the  mind  of  a  Solomon,  to  the  years  of  a 
Methuselah,  in  the  study  thereof;  as  it  has  done,  for  a  longer 
space  of  time,  the  minds  of  angels ;  and  yet  we  are  told,  for 
their  comfort  and  encouragement,  who  are  babes  in  Christ,  that 
"  whosoever  believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  is  born  of  God." 
1  John  V.  1.  Now,  where  this  new  birth  is,  there  will  be  a 
following  on  to  know  the  Lord;  to  which  end  such  a  book  as 
the  Bible  is  put  into  every  believer's  hand,  and  the  Spirit  pro- 
mised, to  teach  us  the  right  use  thereof.  Now,  in  lifting  up  this 
standard,  against  the  impenitent  and  unbelieving  world,  we 
should  preach,  as  the  apostle  Paul  did,  "repentance  towards 
God,  and  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Acts  xx.  21.  "  Testi- 
fying both  to  the  Jews,  and  also  to  the  Greeks,  repentance  to- 
ward God,  and  faith  toward  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  It  is  not 
sufficient  for  us,  who  preach  the  gospel,  to  teach  the  duty  of 
repentance,  unless  we  tell  our  hearers  where,  and  from  whom 
the  grace  of  repentance  is  to  be  had  ;  "  That  Christ  is  exalted  a 
Prince  and  a  Saviour,  to  give  repentance  unto  Israel,  and  re- 
mission of  sins."  Acts  V.  31. 

In  lifting  up  this  standard  against  the  Arians  and  Socinians, 
we  should  enlarge  on  the  true  and  proper  divinity  of  Christ ; 
and  let  our  hearers  know,  that  there  is  not  that  name  in  scrip- 
ture, by  which  the  living  and  true  God  is  known  and  distin- 
guished from  dumb  idols,  but  is  given  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ; 
neither  is  there  that  divine  perfection  mentioned  in  scripture, 
by  which  the  living  and  true  God  is  distinguished  from  lifeless 
idols,  but  is  ascribed  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Neither  is  there 
any  act  of  divine  worship  mentioned  or  commanded,  in  scrip- 
ture, to  be  paid  to  the  living  and  true  God,  and  forbidden  to  be 
given  to  idols,  but  is  commanded  to  be  given  to  the  Lord  Jesus 


DISPLAYED    AGAINST   ERROK.  19 

Christ.  Neither  are  there  any  works,  either  of  nature,  or  of 
grace,  be  it  creation-work,  or  that  of  preservation,  or  the  dis- 
posals of  providence;  or  redemption-work,  be  it  renovation  of 
the  soul,  or  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  or  the  judging  of  the 
world,  or  the  making  of  all  things  new,  but  they  are  ascribed 
in  scripture,  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  which  is  full  and  abun- 
dant proof,  that,  according  to  his  divine  nature,  he  is  one  in 
essence  with  the  Father;  not  a  mere  creature,  though  the  first 
of  all  creatures,  but  the  most  high  God,  manifested  in  the  flesh. 
To  say,  that  in  the  Bible  such  things  as  these  are  ascribed  unto 
a  mere  creature,  would  be  to  place  that  book  of  God  below  the 
Koran, 

We  should  also,  in  lifting  up  this  glorious  standard  against 
the  Pelagians  and  Arminians,  enlarge  on  the  love  and  grace, 
on  the  satisfaction  and  righteousness  of  Christ;  and  let  our 
hearers  know,  how  able  he  is  to  save,  to  the  utmost  of  God's 
mercy,  and  of  the  sinner's  misery,  all  that  come  to  God  by  him; 
in  making  elect  sinners  first  a  wise  and  a  willing,  and  so  a  par- 
doned, justified,  reconciled,  adopted,  sanctified,  and  at  last,  a 
glorified  people. 

We  should  also,  in  lifting  up  this  standard,  enlarge  on  the 
incarnation  of  Christ,  and  on  those  royalties  which  belong  to 
him,  as  he  is  God's  essential  Word  made  flesh :  of  which  roy- 
alties you  have  a  short,  but  a  most  incomparable  account  given 
by  Paul  to  the  Colossians,  Col.  i.  15,  &c.  That  Christ  is  there 
spoken  of,  as  incarnate,  is  evident,  because,  thus  considered,  he 
hath  blood;  of  which  you  read,  chap.  i.  14.  "In  whom  we 
have  redemption  through  his  blood,  the  forgiveness  of  sins." 
Then  follows,  "Who  is  the  image  of  the  invisible  God,  the 
first-born  of  every  creature ;  for  by  him  were  all  things  created 
that  are  in  heaven,  and  that  are  in  earth,  visible  and  invisible, 
whether  they  are  thrones,  or  dominions,  or  principalities,  or 
powers ;  all  things  were  created  by  him,  and  for  him ;  and  he  is 
before  all  things,  and  by  him  all  things  consist."  As  more  of 
God  is  to  be  seen  in  one  man,  especially  in  the  first  Adam, 
than  in  all  the  beasts  of  the  field,  or  birds  of  the  air ;  so  more 
of  the  glory  of  God  is  to  be  seen  in  the  face  or  person  of  Jesus 
Christ,  than  in  the  whole  world  of  angels,  as  well  as  of  men ; 
or  in  never  so  many  worlds  of  mere  creatures,  never  so  varied 
or  diversified.  Mathematicians  can  easily  tell  how  many  ways 
the  letters  of  the  alphabet  may  be  disposed,  or  how  many  mil- 
lions of  words  may  be  made  out  of  four  and  twenty  letters ;  but 
who  can  say  how  many  worlds  may,  by  the  power  of  God,  be 
formed  out  of  so  much  matter  as  this  earth  and  the  visible 
heaven  contain  ?  But  let  their  possible  numbers  be  what  they 
will,  it  may  be  said  for  the  glory  of  our  Emmanuel,  that  his 
face  will  outshine  them  all ;  for,  God  manifested  in  the  flesh, 
must  be,  and  is  the  top  manifestation  God  ever  did,  or  will 


20  THE  spirit's  standard 

make  of  himself,  either  to  men  or  to  angels.  Accordingly  we 
are  told,  Psal.  1.  3.  that  "  out  of  Zion,  the  perfection  of  beauty, 
God  Jiath  sinned ;"  so  shined,  as  to  outshine  all  other  discove- 
ries ;  just  as  the  natural  sun  outshines  the  moon  and  all  the 
stars ;  and  in  the  gift  of  Christ  to  be  the  Head  of  the  church, 
and  Saviour  of  the  body,  he  hath  abounded  towards  us,  in  all 
wisdom  and  prudence,  Eph.  i.  8.  "  Wherein  he  hath  abounded 
towards  us,  in  all  wisdom  and  prudence ;"  a  like  place  with 
this,  Col.  ii.  3.  "  In  whom,  or  wherein,  are  hid  all  the  treasures 
of  wisdom  and  knowledge."  There  seems  to  me  to  be  a  like 
difference  between  God  manifested  in  the  flesh,  and  all  other 
manifestations,  which  there  is  between  the  print  of  a  man's 
foot,  and  his  personal  presence.  How  little  of  the  man  is  to 
be  known  by  the  print  of  his  foot,  if  compared  with  what  may 
be  known  by  personal  converse !  One  "  in  whom  dwells  all 
the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily,"  must  vastly  outshine  all 
the  inhabitants  of  heaven,  how  glorious  soever  they  may  be. 
Thus  is  our  Emmanuel  "  the  brightness  of  the  Father's  glory, 
and  the  express  image  of  his  Person,"  and  he  is  God-man  Me- 
diator ;  for  thus  considered  the  apostle  speaks  of  him,  Heb. 
i.  3,  &c.  For  the  purging  of  our  siris  there  mentioned,  was 
made  by  the  shedding  of  his  blood,  who,  as  incarnate,  had 
blood  to  shed;  blood,  so  his  own  as  no  other  blood  was  or  could 
be.  By  his  Word  to  be  made  flesh,  God  made  the  worlds;  by 
him,  as  incarnate,  he  upholds  and  governs  them:  thus  consi- 
dered he  is  a  Head  of  confirmation  to  elect  angels,  and  a  Head 
of  redemption  to  the  elect  among  the  children  of  men.  The 
royalties  belonging  to  Christ,  as  he  is  the  Word  made  flesh, 
should  no  more  be  passed  over  in  silence  by  us,  in  lifting  up 
this  standard,  than  the  temple  at  Jerusalem  should  be  left  out 
in  the  history  or  map  of  that  city.  We  may  safely  say  it,  that 
had  not  our  Emmanuel,  thus  considered,  been  laid  in  the  pur- 
poses of  God  as  the  foundation  of  the  whole  creation,  this  world 
would  have  been  like  a  house  built  upon  the  sand;  in  which  sense 
he  may  well  be  called,  and  is,  "the  first-born  of  every  creature." 

V.  I  shall  nov/  give  you  some  account  of  the  design  of  this 
Lecture;  which  is  truly  great,  and  such  as  becomes  us  Pro- 
testant dissenters  to  engage  in  ;  for  it  is  no  other  than  in  Christ's 
name,  and  under  the  influences  of  his  Spirit,  to  lift  up  a  stand- 
ard against  error. 

There  are  great  evils,  which  not  barely  threaten,  but  are  ac- 
tually coming  in  like  a  flood  upon  us. 

1.  There  is  the  horrible  evil  of  Atheism  introduced  by  a 
number  of  free-thinkers,  whom  the  word  of  God  calls  fools; 
Psal.  xiv.  1.  who  out-sin  the  devil,  in  going  about  to  persuade 
themselves,  and  others,  that  there  is  no  God.  Of  these  I  am 
credibly  informed  there  are  several  clubs  in  this  great  city;  and 
yet  it  is  no  less  certain,  that  there  must  be  an  eternal,  unorigin 


DISPLAYED    AGAINST   ERROR.  21 

ated  Being,  than  it  is  that  there  is  any  Being  at  all;  for  as  cer- 
tainly as  something  now  is,  something  has  always  been;  which 
eternal  unoriginated  Being  is  God.  It  is  also  as  certain,  that 
the  several  species,  or  kinds  of  beasts,  of  birds,  of  fishes,  and 
of  insects,  as  well  as  the  children  of  men,  could  not  at  first 
come  into  this  world,  as  they  now  do ;  the  first  man,  for  instance, 
could  have  no  father,  but  must,  by  some  superior  power,  be 
immediately  formed,  and  brought  forth,  not  in  a  state  of  help- 
less infancy,  but  able  to  help  himself  Thus  the  first  of  beasts 
must  not  need  the  dug;  nor  the  first  of  birds  be  from  an  egg, 
or  need  the  nest,  or  the  wing.  As  lumps  of  paint  never  so  well 
mixed,  though  they  may  be  said  virtually  to  contain  all  the  pic- 
tures which  the  ablest  hand  can  draw  with  them,  yet  without  a 
skilful  hand  can  express  nothing,  so  dull  inactive  matter  cannot 
form  itself  into  the  meanest  plant,  or  insect,  without  a  superior 
power;  which  superior  Being,  who  formed  all  things,  is  God. 

2.  Another  desolating  evil,  like  to  the  former,  is  that  of  Deism, 
introduced  by  a  set  of  men,  who,  taking  no  notice  of  the  damage 
done  by  sin,  assert  the  sufficiency  of  natural  religion,  to  make 
men  happy  in  both  worlds,  and  so  pour  the  utmost  contempt 
on  all  divine  and  supernatural  revelation,  how  well  soever  it  is 
attested,  though  by  a  cloud  of  witnesses,  many  of  whom  sealed 
their  testimony  with  their  blood;  by  a  great  number  of  miracles 
wrought  in  the  presence  of  inquisitive,  as  well  as  of  implacable 
enemies ;  and  by  a  set  of  most  remarkable  prophecies,  which 
have  all  along  had  their  accomplishment,  and  are  still  accom- 
plishing. The  light  of  nature  when  at  best  is  but  like  the 
shine  of  the  moon,  if  compared  with  the  sunshine  of  the  gos- 
pel; and,  since  the  fall,  is  like  the  moon  in  an  eclipse:  now,  if 
the  moon,  at  full,  be  not  able,  much  less  is  it,  when  in  an  eclipse, 
able,  either  to  make  or  to  rule  the  day.  Deism,  about  an  hun- 
dred years  ago,  was,  in  a  manner,  confined  to  France  and  Italy; 
but  of  late  it  has  passed  the  Alps,  and  crossed  the  seas,  and 
spreads  like  a  mighty  contagion  far  and  near  here  in  England. 

3.  Another  desolating  evil,  which  not  only  threatens,  but  is 
come  in  like  a  flood  upon  us,  is  that  of  eri-or  in  the  things  of 
God ;  particularly  in  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  from  that  of 
the  Arian,  to  that  of  the  Galatian  error ;  or  from  those  who 
deny  the  true  and  proper  divinity  of  Christ,  to  such  as  say  he 
is  not  *'  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness,  to  every  one  that 
believes;"  which  is  no  new  nor  unforetold  enemy;  for  the  apos- 
tle, so  many  years  ago  has  told  us,  that  "  there  must  be  heresies, 
that  they  who  are  approved  may  be  made  manifest."  But, 
blessed  be  God,  though  the  foundations  may  be  attacked  and 
undermined,  they  cannot  be  removed ;  for  if  they  could,  what 
should  the  righteous  do  ? 

4.  Another  desolating  evil,  which  threatens  to  carry  all  before 
it,  is  that  of  jn'ofaneness.     This  is  supported  by  such  as  regard 


22  THE  spirit's  standard 

not  the  sabbath;  but  cry  down  all  public  worship;  make  a  jest 
of  closet  and  family  prayer;  banter  and  burlesque  Scripture,  and 
pour  the  utmost  contempt  on  a  standing  ministry;  though  it 
has  been  hitherto,  and  will  to  the  end  of  time  be  supported  by 
Christ,  who  said,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  unto  the  end  of 
the  world." 

5.  Another  desolating  evil,  is  that  of  immorality.  This  is 
nearly  allied  to,  but  not  the  same  with  the  former,  and  is  propa- 
gated and  spread,  not  barely  by  private  conversation,  but  in 
print,  by  such  as  deny  that  there  is  any  intrinsic  real  difference 
between  moral  good  and  moral  evil ;  who  say,  to  tell  a  lie,  is,  in 
the  nature  of  the  thing,  as  commendable  as  to  speak  the  truth  ; 
and  to  be  a  thief,  as  to  be  an  honest  man.  But  they  may  as 
soon  persuade  us,  that  there  is  no  real  difference  between  light 
and  darkness,  pain  and  pleasure,  life  and  death.  The  mind  in  man 
is  under  a  like  necessity  to  own,  that  a  dutiful  son,  or  subject, 
excels  one  that  hath  murdered  his  father,  or  shot  his  prince ;  as 
the  palate  is  to  give  the  preference  to  wholesome  pleasant  food, 
before  stinking  carrion ;  or,  as  the  eye  is,  to  prefer  a  pleasant 
agreeable  prospect,  before  a  dark  cave,  or  a  dreadful  precipice. 
It  is  not  more  evident  to  the  mathematician,  that  the  three  angles 
of  every  triangle  are  equal  to  two  right  angles,  than  it  is  to  all 
mankind,  that  justice  and  mercy  excel  tyranny  and  oppression. 

6.  Another  desolating  evil,  which  threatens  to  overflow  like 
a  flood,  is  that  of  lihertinism,  or  turning  the  grace  of  God  into 
wantonness.  It  is  not  unlikely  but  Cain  might  presume,  upon 
the  grace  of  the  first  promise,  in  his  murder  of  Abel :  to  be  sure 
those  libertines  did  on  that  of  the  gospel,  of  whom  Jude  speaks, 
Jude,  ver.  4.  and  thus  do  multitudes  in  our  dark  day;  for  though 
a  work  of  grace  cannot  be  abused,  all  the  doctrines  of  grace 
may.  The  outward  court  is  full  of  libertines,  who  are  not  under 
the  law  to  Christ;  of  whom  the  apostle  speaks,  Phil.  iii.  IS,  19: 
"  For  many  walk,  of  whom  I  have  told  you  often,  and  now  tell 
you,  even  weeping,  that  they  are  the  enemies  of  tiie  cross  of 
Christ ;  whose  end  is  destruction,  whose  God  is  their  belly,  and 
whose  glory  is  in  their  shame,  who  mind  earthly  things." 

These  are  the  evils  of  our  times ;  some  of  which  we,  who 
preach  this  lecture,  shall,  in  Christ's  name,  and  under  the  in- 
fluences of  his  Spirit,  lift  up  the  standard  of  the  Word  against, 
even  the  truth,  as  it  is  in  Jesus;  who,  as  God  manifested  in  the 
flesh,  was  a  full,  unanswerable,  visible,  and  most  satisfying 
proof  of  the  being  of  a  God;  of  the  truth  of  the  Old  Testament, 
and  consequently  a  matchless  recommendation  of  the  Christian 
religion,  as  it  is  contained  in  the  New.  Nothing  could  be  ex- 
pected from  the  Word  made  flesh,  and  in  that  flesh  sustaining 
the  character  of  a  Redeemer,  that  was  not  to  be  met  with  in 
the  birth,  life,  death,  resurrection,  and  ascension  of  Christ :  his 
divinity,  sonship,  and  mediation,  were  written  in  characters  full 


DISPLAYED   AGAINST   ERROR.  23 

of  greatness  and  glory  upon  all  these  ;  so  written  as  to  put  angels 
to  school  again :  those  vast  proficients  in  the  book  of  nature, 
are  represented  as  learning  of  the  church,  the  manifold  luisdom 
of  God,  as  it  shines  forth  in  the  face  of  our  Emmanuel,  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  Eph.  iii.  10. 

The  design  of  this  Lecture  therefore  is  not  to  oppose  any  other 
orthodox  Lecture,  nor  to  put  a  slight  upon  any  of  our  brethren 
in  the  ministry;  but  to  bear  an  extraordinary  united  testimony 
against  growing  infidelity,  and  spreading  errors. 

Now,  we  your  Lecturers,  though  we  neither  expect  nor  de- 
sire the  encouragement  of  the  purse,  want  your  prayers  ;  that 
in  a  spirit  of  meekness,  and  not  of  wrath  and  bitterness,  we  may 
instruct  those  who  shall  oppose  themselves,  and  defend,  with  a 
right  gospel  spirit,  the  great  truths  thereof;  for  between  true 
Christian  zeal  and  rage,  there  is  a  like  difference,  which  there 
is  between  the  warm  beams  of  the  sun,  and  the  desolating 
flames  of  ^Etna. 

Brethren,  pray  for  us,  that  we  may  neither  study  nor  preach, 
nor  pray  in  our  own  spirits,  but  do  all  in  Christ's  Spirit ;  the 
promise  of  whom,  as  he  is  Christ's  glorifier,  is,  in  a  way  of  emi- 
nency,  the  promise  of  the  Father  under  the  New  Testament ;  as 
the  promise  of  the  Messiah  was  his  promise  under  the  Old. 

For  your  encouragement  who  shall  attend,  as  well  as  for  ours 
who  are  to  preach,  take  the  following  Scripture,  and  with  it  I 
will  conclude,  Psal.  xcih.  3,  4:  "The  floods  have  lifted  up,  0 
Lord ;  the  floods  have  lifted  up  their  voice ;  the  floods  lift  up  their 
waves:"  Understand  it  of  ungodly  men,  in  all  ages  and  places; 
especially  of  such  as  persecute  the  saints  and  faithful  in  Christ 
Jesus,  though,  for  want  of  power,  it  be  only  with  the  lip  and 
pen :  "  The  Lord  on  high  is  mightier  than  the  noise  of  many 
waters;  yea,  than  the  mighty  waves  of  the  sea." 


THE 

INSUFFICIENCY   OF   NATURAL   RELIGION. 

TWO    SERMONS. 

y 

By    ABRAHAM    TAYLOR, 

MINISTER  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 


SERMON  L 

1  Corinthians  xi.  14. — The  natural  man  receives  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of 
God,  for  they  are  foolishness  to  hira ;  neither  can  he  know  them,  because  they 
are  spiritually  discerned. 

God  created  man  upright,  but  he  soon  fell  and  stripped  himself 
of  the  robes  of  innocence  and  integrity,  with  which  he  was  clad, 
as  he  came  pure  out  of  his  Maker's  hands.  It  lay  entirely  in 
the  disposing  will  of  God,  whether  he  would  save  man  at  all 
after  his  revolt;  and  seeing  he  thought  fit  to  rescue  part  of 
Adam's  posterity  from  the  ruin  which  the  fall  brought  upon 
them,  he  certainly  had  a  right  to  pitch  upon  what  method  he 
thought  fittest,  to  bring  about  their  recovery. 

Whether  God  could  have  accomplished  the  salvation  of  men 
as  well  any  other  way,  as  in  the  method  he  has  taken  of  choos- 
ing them  in  Christ,  entering  into  a  covenant  with  him,  as  the 
Surety,  and  with  all  the  elect  in  him  as  his  seed;  and,  in  the 
fulness  of  time,  sending  him  in  the  flesh,  that  he  might  suffer 
death,  to  purchase  the  redemption  of  such  as  he  had  given  him, 
is  a  question  too  high  for  us  to  determine,  and  therefore  is  vain 
and  unprofitable.  It  is  insolently  intruding  into  things  not  seen, 
for  us  to  take  upon  us  to  determine  absolutely  what  a  God  of 
infinite  wisdom  and  power  may  do,  or  might  have  done.  How- 
ever, this  we  must  tenaciously  adhere  to,  that  it  is  inconsistent 
with  the  nature  of  God,  for  him  to  injure  any  of  his  perfections, 
to  save  such  as  deserved  not  his  favour;  we  are  not  to  doubt 
but  that  God  will  glorify  one  attribute  as  well  as  another,  in 
rescuing  ruined  criminals:  so  that,  though  we  suppose  him  ever 
so  unlimited  in  his  sovereignty,  or  ever  so  rich  in  his  mercy,  we 
must  still  aver,  that  he  never  would,  in  order  to  show  his  sove- 
reignty, or  make  known  his  mercy,  suffer  his  justice  to  remain 
unsatisfied,  and  consequently  not  glorified,  or  his  holiness  and 
truth  to  be  tarnished;  but  he  is  as  much  concerned  to  glorify 
his  justice,  and  to  show  forth  his  holiness  and  truth,  as  he  can 
be  to  manifest  his  sovereignty,  or  to  magnify  his  mercy, 

God  therefore  showed  the  greatness  of  his  wisdom  in  con- 
triving the  method  of  man's  salvation,  that  it  might  be  by 

24 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  20 

Christ's  satisfying  for  sin :  in  this  way  all  his  perfections  are  set 
in  the  most  amiable  light;  justice  is  glorified  to  the  utmost,  and 
has  vindicated  its  rights,  in  that  a  satisfaction  oit  infinite  value 
has  been  yielded  by  an  almighty  Redeemer;  holiness  sparkles 
with  the  brightest  lustre,  seeing  he,  who  is  purity  itself,  has 
showed  his  hatred  of  sin  to  be  so  great,  that  he  spared  not  his 
own  Son,  when  he  only  knew  sin  by  imputation;  the  truth  of 
him  who  is  invariable  in  faithfulness,  is  fully  established,  in  that 
he  has  exacted  the  punishment  threatened;  goodness  appears 
in  its  full  beauty,  as  a  Redeemer  is  provided  for  such  as  have 
destroyed  themselves,  and  the  greatest  blessings  are  bestowed 
freely  upon  the  unworthy;  mercy  is  displayed  to  the  utmost, 
because  provision  is  made  for  bringing  sinners  to  partake  of  the 
happiness  they  had  forfeited ;  wisdom  and  power  are  greatly 
magnified,  since  a  way  is  laid  out  and  finished,  in  which  justice 
and  holiness  might  not  be  injured,  and  yet  grace  and  mercy 
might  be  eminently  exalted. 

This  is  the  method  of  man's  salvation,  which  the  Scriptures 
teach;  and  as  it  is  the  only  way  of  thinking  which  man  can  fall 
into,  in  order  to  glorify  all  God's  perfections,  it  must  be  con- 
cluded to  be  the  most  rational  scheme  in  the  world.  The  design 
of  God  was  to  glorify  his  own  perfections,  to  exalt  Christ,  to 
stain  the  pride  of  man's  glory,  and  to  show  the  necessity  of 
holiness;  therefore,  as  the  Holy  Scripture  declares  and  reveals 
this  wonderful  plan,  it  is  no  marvel  that  it  should  be  ridiculed, 
as  a  huddle  of  fooUsh  opinions,  by  the  vain  and  proud  preten-f 
ders  to  reason,  who  make  what  surpasses  their  shallow  capaci- 
ties the  subject  of  their  scorn,  and  treat  with  contempt  all  that 
is  above  their  contracted  apprehensions.  As  the  design  of  reve- 
lation is  to  thwart  the  pride  of  fallen  man,  it  is  no  wonder  that 
insolent  creatures,  who  would  be  independent  on  God,  and  who 
imagine  that  they  are  wise  enough  to  find  out  their  duty,  and 
able  enough  to  pursue  their  own  happiness,  should  rise  up  with 
rancour  and  malice,  against  what  crosses  their  corrupt  reason, 
and  has  a  tendency  to  throw  down  the  lofty  bulwarks  of  their 
vain  imaginations.  The  contempt  which  is  cast  on  revelation 
is  not  new;  for  the  great  apostle  Paul,  after  he  had  told  us  that 
he  spake  or  declared  the  things  that  are  freely  given  us  of  God, 
not  in  the  words  which  man's  wisdom  teaches,  but  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  teaches,  comparing  spiritual  things  with  spiritual, 
has  presently  subjoined  these  words:  "  The  natural  man  receives 
not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  for  they  are  foolishness  to 
him;  neither  can  he  know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually 
discerned."  By  the  natural  man,  is  not  to  be  understood  one 
wallowing  in  lust,  and  sunk  in  the  mire  of  sensuality,  but  the 
man  of  bare  reason;  he  who  will  use  no  other  helps  than  what 
he  can  procure  by  mere  rational  attainments,  such  a  man,  though 
possessed  of  a  good  share  of  natural  light,  yet  if  he  is  without 

4 


26  OF   THE   INSUFFICIENCY   OF 

a  spiritual  discerning,  or  without  wisdom  afforded  him  from 
above,  brands  the  doctrines  and  mysteries  of  pure  revelation 
with  folly,  because  he  cannot  fully  comprehend  them;  not  con- 
sidering that  the  mysteries  of  reason,  such  as  the  being  and  per- 
fections of  God,  can  no  more  be  fully  comprehended  by  him, 
than  those  of  revelation.  If  we  consider  man  as  renewed,  and 
as  such  having  his  mind  enlightened,  it  must  be  owned,  that  the 
mysteries  of  reason  and  pure  revelation  have  such  great  depths 
in  them,  that  they  are  not  to  be  sounded  by  the  line,  even  of 
a  sanctified  understanding:  nay,  it  may  be  justly  said,  that  the 
perfections  of  God  are  not  to  be  fully  grasped  by  any  created 
mind.  It  is  no  wonder,  then,  that  such  as  are  left  to  bare  rea- 
son in  a  corrupt  state,  should  as  brute  beasts  contemn  the  sacred 
verities  which  are  not  suited  to  their  depraved  lust. 

The  Scriptures  have  never  been  treated  with  more  irrever- 
ence than  they  have  been  of  late ;  but  yet  the  enemies  of  reve- 
lation choose  rather  to  attack  them  by  sap  and  stratagem,  than 
in  an  open  and  honourable  way.  Our  modern  Deists  are  shy 
in  saying,  in  their  pubUc  writings,  that  the  Christian  religion  is 
forgery,  and  the  founder  of  it  an  impostor;  but  they  choose  to 
magnify  the  perfection  of  reason,  and  to  set  up  what  they  call 
natural  religion,  as  a  complete  body  of  doctrine;  they  can  talk 
with  a  grave  sneer,  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  of  the  religion  of  our 
Saviour,  and  will  pretend  they  esteem  it;  but,  at  the  same  time, 
they  plead  that  natural  religion  is  perfect,  and  needs  no  addition 
to  be  made  to  it,  only  they  allow  it  may  be  explained:  hence 
they  draw  this  consequence,  that  the  gospel  is  as  old  as  the  law 
of  nature,  and  neither  can  nor  ought  to  be  any  other  than  a 
republication  of  it.  Their  sly  drift  herein  is  to  bring  people  to 
conclude,  that  since  natural  religion  is  perfect,  if  revelation  con- 
tains any  thing  more  than  reason  could  of  itself  have  found  out, 
it  must  be  discarded  as  imposture:  now,  every  one  must  grant, 
that  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  really  con- 
tain a  great  number  of  facts  and  doctrines,  which  bare  reason 
could  never  have  found  out ;  if,  then,  reason  is  a  perfect  rule, 
revelation,  which  contains  more  than  this  could  find  out,  must 
be  given  up  as  fraud  and  forgery;  for  nothing  can  be  added  to 
what  is  perfect.  This  is  the  substance  of  all  the  solemn  banter 
and  grave  grimace,  with  which  the  world  has  of  late  been  enter- 
tained; so  that  it  cannot  be  amiss  to  inquire,  whether  reason  in 
men  is  really  so  perfect,  as  the  pretended  masters  of  it  give  out; 
and  whether  natural  religion  is  so  complete,  as  is  affirmed. 

It  must  be  owned,  that  the  labour  of  the  Deists  in  assaulting 
the  Christian  scheme,  has  been  made  very  easy,  and  their  work 
has  been  in  a  great  measure  done  for  them,  by  many  treacher- 
ous professors  of  the  religion  of  Jesus.  Many  betrayers  of  the 
cause  of  revelation  have  forged  weapons  for  the  enemies  of  it, 
in  preventing  them  the  pains  of  attacking  particular  doctrines. 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  27 

Men  who  would  lose  all  patience,  if  we  questioned  their  own 
ing  the  sufficiency  of  Scripture,  and  who  have  very  much  in 
their  mouths  a  noisy  outcry,  that  the  Bible,  the  Bible,  is  the 
religion  of  Protestants,  have  brought  the  charge  of  nonsense 
and  contradiction  against  the  Protestant  doctrines  of  the  ever- 
blessed  Trinity  in  Unity,  absolute  election,  original  sin,  the 
necessity  of  an  infinite  satisfaction,  the  fulness  and  particularity 
of  redemption,  justification  by  the  imputed  righteousness  of 
Christ,  the  inability  of  man  .to  convert  himself,  the  efficacy  of 
divine  grace,  the  perseverance  of  the  saints,  the  resurrection  of 
the  same  numerical  body,  and  the  eternity  of  hell  torments:  all 
these  doctrines  have  been  misrepresented,  exploded,  derided, 
and  burlesqued  by  such  as  profess  themselves  Christians,  nay, 
by  such  as  would  appear  zealous  to  promote  practical  religion: 
so  that  the  Deists  have  had  little  to  do,  but  to  stand  still  and 
smile,  whilst  others  were  doing  their  work  for  them,  perhaps 
without  knowing  it;  though  it  is  to  be  feared,  that  some  of  these 
would  not  keep  out  of  their  tents,  if  they  could  retain  their  pre- 
ferments, salaries,  or  subscriptions. 

It  would  be  well,  if  all  who  have  gone  into  this  way,  who 
are  alarmed  at  the  growth  of  Deism,  would  consider  what  they 
have  been  doing.  Many  have  been  immoderately  pleased  with 
being  applauded,  by  the  adversaries  of  revelation,  for  being  ra- 
tional divines,  and  men  of  free  thought;  but  though  the  enemies 
of  Christianity  compliment  them,  to  induce  them  to  go  on  to  do 
their  work  for  them,  yet  it  is  known  to  many  that  they  secretly 
contemn  them.  The  more  thinking  Deists  know  that  the  doc- 
trines which  these  disputers  arraign,  as  unscriptural  and  irra- 
tional, are  the  things  which  are  really  contained  in  Scripture, 
which,  for  that  reason  chiefly,  they  neglect;  and  they  look  upon 
these  removers  of  the  ancient  land-marks,  however  they  may 
flatter  them,  either  to  be  fools  or  cheats.  The  opposers  of  the 
ancient  faith  are  very  forward  to  ascribe  the  growth  of  infide- 
lity to  men's  being  led  to  pay  a  regard  to  what  they  call  irra- 
tional doctrines;  but  the  case  really  is,  a  denial  of  revelation  has 
always  followed  upon  attempts  made  to  subvert  the  old  protes- 
tant  doctrines,  and  as  these  have  succeeded  with  giddy  unsettled 
persons,  in  proportion  have  the  ravages  of  Deism  been  extended. 

Another  thing  which  has  greatly  contributed  to  weaken  the 
cause  of  Christianity,  has  been  the  zeal  of  some  to  recommend 
systems  of  morality,  under  the  whimsical  title  of  natural  reli- 
gion. There  is  no  question  to  be  made,  but  that  some  persons, 
who  engaged  this  way,  had  no  design  to  weaken  the  regard 
men  should  have  to  revealed  religion,  but  by  these  means  the 
peculiar  doctrines  of  Christianity  have  been  jumbled  out.  It 
has  been  said,  that  during  the  times  of  our  civil  commotions, 
there  was  little  preached  up  but  faith  in  Christ,  and  that  the 
duties  of  morality  were  little  insisted  on:  it  is  certain,  that  some 


28  OF   THE    INSUFFICIENCY   OF 

ignorant  enthusiastic  preachers  insisted  then  much  on  eternal 
union  witli  Christ,  and  that  sin  could  do  a  behever  no  harm, 
but  all  wise  and  thoughtful  men  abhorred  such  immoral  con- 
ceits; however,  the  charge  was  laid  against  all  who  maintained 
the  doctrine  of  grace;  and  accordingly  when  a  state-alteration 
ensued,  as  it  is  natural  for  men  who  take  a  partial  view  of 
things,  when  they  endeavour  to  avoid  one  extreme,  to  run  into 
the  other,  neglecting  the  middle  way,  all  strove  to  show  them- 
selves as  opposite  to  those  who  went  before,  as  might  be. 
Tiierefore  the  Christian  doctrines,  if  not  opposed,  were  wholly 
neglected,  and  little  was  insisted  upon  but  moral  duties,  under 
the  odd  title  of  natural  religion:  then  books  could  be  written  on 
the  Christian  plan,  called  The  Whole  Duty  of  Man,  without 
stating  the  doctrine  of  faith  in  Christ,  the  prime  duty  of  a  Chris- 
tian. It  must  be  observed,  that  at  the  same  time  that  natural 
religion  was  talked  of,  to  the  neglect  of  the  doctrines  of  revela- 
tion, a  deluge  of  Atheism,  irreligion,  and  immorality,  flowed  in 
upon  those  of  the  national  establishment ;  and  whether,  since 
Ave  of  the  separation  have  heard  so  much  noise  about  it,  there 
has  not  been  a  declension  as  to  justice  and  common  honesty,  a 
contempt  of  the  Sabbath,  and  a  neglect  of  public  worship,  is 
what  every  one  is  able  to  judge  of,  who  has  looked  a  little  into 
the  world. 

I.  I  shall  inquire  what  we  ought  to  understand  by  natural 
relxs;ion;  or  in  what  sense  tlie  light  of  nature  is  to  be  taken. 

Since  so  many  fine  things  have  been  said  of  natural  religion, 
it  may  be  well  worth  while  to  consider  what  the  thing  is,  which 
is  dressed  up  in  such  fair  colours,  and  which  every  one  is  so 
much  at  a  loss  to  find  out.  In  one  sense  it  may  be  taken  for 
the  light  with  which  Adam  and  Eve,  our  first  parents,  were 
blessed,  whilst  they  were  clad  with  innocence.  If  it  is  taken 
in  this  sense,  it  must  be  granted,  that  reason  was  much  more 
perfect  than  it  is  now.  Our  great  progenitor,  and  our  general 
mother,  as  long  as  they  ranged  the  fragrant  bowers  of  paradise, 
and  strayed  about  the  pleasant  mazes  of  that  wilderness  of 
sweets,  in  which  the  kind  hand  of  their  Creator  had  placed  them, 
were  very  happy  creatures.  Their  understandings  were  clear 
and  strong,  their  judgment  was  unbiassed,  and  no  disorderly 
passions  raged  in  their  unrufRed  breasts;  they  were  created  in 
the  image  of  God,  and  the  likeness  of  their  mighty  JNIaker  shone 
forth  in  wisdom,  truth,  and  severe  and  pure  sanctity;  their  obe- 
dience to  the  law  of  their  God  was  not  forced,  neither  was  it 
from  fear;  but  they  fulfilled  the  command  of  him  who  placed 
them  in  happiness,  with  delight  and  alacrity :  they  knew  all  that 
was  necessary  for  them  to  be  acquainted  with,  and  they  yielded 
universal  obedience  to  the  various  commands  of  the  heavenly 
Potentate,  who  created  them  out  of  the  dust. 

Though  it  is  to  be  allowed  that  reason  was  much  more  com- 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  29 

plete  and  perfect,  in  onr  first  parents,  before  the  fall,  than  it  is 
in  us  their  miserable  posterity,  since  we  have  been  plunged  into 
ruin  and  misery  by  their  apostasy;  yet  it  is  not  to  be  granted  that 
the  light  of  nature  was  every  way  a  complete  and  perfect  rule, 
even  in  the  state  of  innocence  and  integrity.  Though  man  was 
free  from  sinful  imperfections,  yet  he  was  not  an  absolutely  per- 
fect being,  for  no  creature  is  such;  and  as  he  was  not  absolutely 
perfect,  so  his  natural  light  was  not  an  absolutely  complete  rule 
to  go  by.  If  it  had  been  so,  he  would  not  have  needed  any 
directions,  as  to  what  he  was  to  do,  but  would,  without  any 
supernatural  assistance,  have  known  his  duty  in  every  part  and 
circumstance  of  it:  but  this  was  far  from  being  the  case;  he 
needed  to  be  instructed  by  God,  Gen.  i.  29.  ii.  16,  17.  as  to  his 
circumstances  of  life,  and  as  to  some  parts  of  his  duty.  It  was 
by  supernatural  light,  or  by  revelation  from  God,  that  he  came 
to  know  that  he  had  dominion  over  all  the  creatures  in  the  lower 
world ;  it  was  by  divine  direction  that  he  was  to  take  fruits  and 
herbs  for  his  food ;  it  was  by  a  command  from  above  that  he  was 
to  refrain  from  eating  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil, 
upon  pain  of  death;  and  it  was  by  instruction  from  his  Creator 
that  he  performed  instituted  worship,  or  kept  the  seventh  day 
as  a  day  of  sacred  rest.  These  revelations  would  never  have 
been  made  to  our  first  father,  whilst  he  continued  peacefully  to 
enjoy  the  spicy  groves  of  paradise,  if  natural  light  had  been  to 
him  a  perfect  rule.  If  he  had  not  needed  supernatural  light, 
God  would  not  have  afforded  it,  for  the  all-wise  Creator  does 
nothing  in  vain,  whatever  foolish  men  may  think;  therefore  as 
he  had  hght  by  revelation,  it  is  plain  he  needed  it;  and  if  so, 
reason  was  not  every  way  a  perfect  rule.  If  any  urge,  in  answer 
to  this,  that  the  account  Moses  gives  of  the  primitive  state  of 
man  is  an  allegory,  they  are  to  be  pitied  for  their  profaneness 
and  pride;  and  they  are  not  to  be  envied  for  not  having  rever- 
ence for  Scripture,  and  humility  sufficient  to  make  them  submit 
their  wisdom  to  revelation,  and  to  induce  them,  when  they  are 
gravelled  with  an  insurmountable  difficulty,  frankly  to  own  it. 

Plowever,  if  we  were  to  suppose  reason  in  man,  in  a  state  of 
innocence,  to  be  a  perfect  rule,  of  what  avail  is  all  this  to  us, 
who  may  find,  by  sad  experience,  that  it  is  not  with  us  as  it 
was  with  man  when  he  reposed  himself  in  the  peaceful  shades 
of  Eden  and  roved  about  the  verdant  walks  of  paradise?  Our 
understandings  are  now  darkened,  so  that  we  are  often  at  a  loss 
about  the  nature  of  our  duty ;  and  when  we  cannot  say  we  are 
entirely  ignorant  of  our  duty,  and  are,  in  judgment  convinced 
that  we  ought  to  comply  with  it,  how  are  our  understandings 
blinded,  and  our  judgments  corrupted  by  our  unruly  passions, 
and  our  irregular  appetites!  If  reason  were  our  only  rule,  we 
should  bribe  it  to  silence,  by  the  pleasure  of  following  our  own 
inclinations,  and  then  we  should  be  swayed  by  unruly  lusts, 


30  OF   THE    INSUFFICIENCY   OF 

without  the  least  opportunity  of  knowing  that  the  things  in 
which  we  dehght,  if  pursued  throughout,  would  entail  endless 
disquietments  upon  us. 

The  common  notion  persons  now  seem  to  have  of  natural 
religion,  is,  that  it  is  a  body  of  principles  and  duties,  which  men 
gather  from  reason  and  Scripture,  receiving  into  their  systems 
whatsoever  they  like  in  revelation,  and  leaving  out  all  such 
doctrines  as  they  do  not  approve  of.  That  there  is  one  God, 
and  that  he  is  invested  with  infinite  perfections,  is  the  voice  of 
reason  and  revelation ;  this  therefore  must  needs  be  put  down 
as  the  prime  doctrine  of  natural  religion;  that  this  one  God 
rules  and  guides  the  universe,  by  his  wise  providence,  is  what 
reason  and  observation  may  assure  us  of;  this  therefore  is  not 
left  out  of  the  systems  of  the  religion  of  nature ;  that  the  soul 
is  immortal,  and  that  there  is  a  final  state  of  happiness  and 
misery,  is  what  few  are  hardy  enough  to  deny ;  that  men,  as 
creatures,  are  obliged  to  worship  and  serve  the  God,  to  whom 
they  owe  their  being;  and  that,  as  creatures  fitted  for  society, 
they  are  obliged  to  consult  the  good  and  happiness  of  others,  is 
what  all  have  not  the  front  to  call  in  question. 

These  principles  which  have  met  with  the  general  assent  of 
mankind,  are  the  great  principles  of  reason  and  Scripture :  any 
one  who  will  not  admit  any  of  these,  if  he  will  take  the  pains 
to  see  what  dress  could  be  made  up  for  them,  out  of  the  writings 
of  mere  pagans,  will  soon  be  convinced,  that  they  must  wear 
no  other  than  a  mean  and  contemptible  garb,  such  as  would  not 
set  them  off,  or  recommend  them  to  the  high  esteem  of  men: 
they  might  be  compared  to  a  picture  not  coloured,  where  the 
lines  may  be  drawn  with  art  and  regularity,  but  have  not  a 
striking  force  upon  the  eye :  but  if  these  principles  of  reason  are 
set  off  with  the  strong,  hvely,  and  glowing  colours,  in  which 
they  are  painted  in  the  Scriptures,  they  command  admiration. 
What  account  can  be  gathered  from  the  writings  of  pagans,  of 
the  being  and  perfections  of  God?  Though  they  owned  one 
Supreme,  yet  they  introduced  a  rabble  of  inferior  gods,  and  so 
worshipped  creatures  besides  the  Creator.  How  low  and  lame 
were  their  notions  of  the  spiritual  nature,  and  the  immortality 
of  the  soul !  And  what  mean  figments  did  they  take  up  with 
about  a  future  state !  How  uncertain  were  they  about  God's 
governing  the  world !  And  though  they  had  among  them  some 
who  were  great  proficients  in  several  social  duties,  what  can 
we  gather  from  them  of  love  to  God,  resignation  to  his  wise 
disposal,  as  to  the  concerns  of  life,  self-denial,  and  universal 
charity  and  benevolence?  These  are  duties  which  are  agreea- 
ble to  right  reason;  but  let  any  one  say  where  they  are  well 
stated,  by  such  as  were  entire  strangers  to  revelation.  There- 
fore in  our  day,  natural  religion  is  decked  in  plumes  borrowed 
from  Scripture,  and  then  is  set  up  in  opposition  to  it,  as  a  perfect 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  31 

rule,  and  as  such  not  needing  the  assistance  of  a  revelation. 
This  is  scandalously  base  and  unfair.  For  instance:  no  one 
mere  rational  writer  ever  gave  a  tolerable  account  of  a  future 
state;  and  none  of  the  delineators  of  the  reUgion  of  nature,  since 
the  promulgation  of  Christianity,  ever  did  it,  without  leaving 
the  plainest  traces  of  his  having  aid  from  Scripture;  and  yet 
these  sketches,  which  are  drawn  by  the  help  of  Scripture,  must 
be  palmed  upon  the  world,  as  the  doctrines  of  mere  reason 
unassisted  by  the  light  of  revelation. 

Thus  Scripture  is  pillaged,  in  order  to  its  being  represented 
as  a  needless  useless  thing;  for  if  a  man  can  be  so  silly,  as  to 
be  brought  to  think,  that  those  points  which  artful  men  pick 
out  from  Scripture,  which  has  nothing  inconsistent  with  reason, 
though  it  contains  much  above  mere  human  reason,  are  things 
to  be  known  without  the  help  of  it,  they  will  easily  give  it  up 
as  unnecessary ;  and  the  more,  because  it  reveals  matters  too 
high  for  their  low  understanding,  and  so  thwarts  their  pride. 
It  is  not  fair  then  to  call  that  natural  religion,  the  defects  of 
which  are  supplied  by  truths  taken  from  the  oracles  of  God ; 
neither  is  it  just  to  recommend  it  as  a  perfect  scheme,  when  it 
cannot  be  put  in  any  tolerable  dress,  without  the  necessary  help 
of  that  very  thing,  to  make  which  seem  unnecessary,  so  much 
pains  are  taken  to  deck  it.  All  this  must  be  understood  of 
natural  religion,  when  it  is  set  oft'  in  the  best  manner;  but  it 
must  be  owned,  that  some  of  its  recommenders  are  so  infatuated, 
as  not  to  borrow  that  help  they  might,  in  order  to  make  it  agree- 
able, and  are  so  ignorant,  as  to  show  its  imperfection,  by  making 
it  resemble  Atheism.  We  are  told,  that  the  distinction  of  right 
and  wrong,  virtue  and  vice,  is  entirely  independent  of  the  will 
of  God,  and  that  it  arises  from  the  nature  of  things,  by  which 
senseless  jargon  may  be  meant  fate,  chance,  the  animating  soul 
of  the  world,  or  any  other  unmeaning  thing,  or  hard  word,  with- 
out an  idea  annexed  to  it.  It  is  pretended,  that  men  are  not 
made  by  God  for  himself,  and  that  he  has  no  motive,  on  his  own 
account,  to  give  them  laws,  or  to  punish  the  breach  of  them, 
and  that  consequently  they  are  not  accountable  to  him;  but  that 
such  fully  answer  the  end  of  their  creation,  as  contribute  all  they 
can  to  their  own  and  others'  happiness.  This  is  to  suppose,  that 
God  has  power  to  create  rational  creatures,  and  it  is  a  favour 
that  this  is  allowed,  but  that  he  has  no  authority  to  prescribe 
for  them  laws,  seeing  the  rules  of  justice  rise  from  the  nature 
of  things,  and  he  is  confined  to  act  by  them,  as  much  as  those 
he  has  created;  that  he  has  no  justice  to  glorify  when  he  is  pro- 
voked, but  is  obliged  to  be  kind  to  all  his  creatures,  whether 
they  obey  him,  or  rebel  against  him :  in  short,  that  he  is  an 
indolent  Being,  such  as  was  the  God  of  the  Epicureans ;  that 
man  is  independent  of  him  who  created  him,  and  preserves 
him;  that  he  is  to  be  his  own  judge,  whether  he  answers  the  end 


32  OF   THE    INSUFFICIENCY   OF 

of  his  creation,  by  promoting  his  own  happiness,  and  that  of 
others. 

Thus  the  irrational  stuff,  which  was  hissed  off  the  stage,  with 
just  contempt,  when  it  was  introduced  by  Epicurus,  is  afresh 
brought  on,  to  show  the  sufficiency  of  human  reason,  in  our 
enhghtened  age  of  search  and  inquiry.  It  would  be  doing  too 
much  honour  to  such  monstrous  absurdity,  to  go  about  gravely 
to  confute  them;  and  it  would  be  labour  and  time  as  ill  spent, 
as  it  would  be  to  argue  with  a  man  who  stiffly  denies  that  two 
and  three  make  five,  or  to  wrangle  with  one  who  will  have  it, 
that  it  is  as  light  at  midnight  as  at  noon.  The  assurance  with 
which  such  irrational  fancies  are  vented,  does  not  prove  that 
their  asserters  have  more  brains,  or  brighter  parts  than  others, 
but  only  that  they  have  harder  foreheads  and  thicker  skulls  than 
the  generality  of  men.  These  bold  champions  of  infidelity  deny 
that  man's  reason  is  impaired  by  the  fall;  but  they  give  the 
fullest  demonstration  that  it  is  greatly  sunk,  even  almost  to  a 
degree  of  brutality,  in  themselves,  and  by  this  afford  us,  though 
stupidly,  and  against  their  wills,  a  sensible  proof  of  the  fall  of 
man,  wiiich  they  banter  and  insipidly  ridicule.  Were  not  the 
rational  faculties  greatly  decayed,  no  persons  could  ever  dream 
of  a  God  of  infinite  power,  wisdom,  and  goodness,  having  no 
motive,  on  his  own  account,  to  give  his  creatures  laws,  or  to 
punish  the  breach  of  them,  and  that  men  are  not  accountable  to 
him  that  made  them.  It  is  not  worth  while  to  talk  with  crea- 
tures who  have  so  much  laid  aside  the  use  of  reason;  it  is 
throwing  pearls  to  swine :  we  can  only  refer  the  decision  to  the 
hour,  which  a  few  years  will  introduce,  and  then  these  rebels 
against  heaven  will  find  whether  they  are  accountable  to  their 
Maker  or  not. 

All  that  has  been  said  of  late,  by  way  of  panegyric  upon 
reason  and  the  light  of  nature,  is  founded  on  a  mere  fallacy. 
The  adversaries  of  revelation  do  not  speak  of  reason,  as  it  is  in 
this  or  the  other  man,  as  it  may  be  less  clear  in  one  than  in  an- 
other, but  they  speak  of  reason  in  the  abstract,  and  in  that  sense 
it  may  be  allowed  to  be  of  a  very  large  extent.  No  one  will  be 
so  silly  as  to  say,  that  reason,  in  the  abstract  idea  of  it,  is  insuf- 
ficient and  imperfect,  for  nothing  is  to  be  regarded  which  is 
contrary  to  reason.  The  question  is  not  then,  whether  reason 
abstractedly  considered  is  imperfect,  for  that  would  be  question- 
ing whether  truth  is  truth,  or  whether  right  reason  is  right  rea- 
son; which  would  be  only  trifling,  and  spending  words  to  no 
purpose.  True  reason  is  right;  and  what  is  right,  cannot,  as 
such,  be  said  to  be  imperfect:  however,  this  poor  and  mean 
quibble  is  all  that  the  pleaders  for  the  sufficiency  of  reason  have 
to  talk  upon.  It  would  be  ridiculous  for  any  one  to  say,  that 
the  light  of  the  sun  is  not  sufficient  to  enable  a  man  to  keep  his 
path;  but  it  signifies  very  little,  when  a  man  is  involved  in  the 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  ^ 

shade  of  the  evening,  to  tell  him  he  must  not  question  that  the 
sun's  Hght  is  sufficient  for  him  to  see  by.  The  question  really 
is,  whether  reason,  as  it  is  now  in  men,  whether  the  light  of 
nature,  as  it  is  in  men  in  their  present  state,  which  none  can 
venture  to  say,  in  fact,  is  not  a  state  of  degeneracy,  is  a  suffi- 
cient rule  to  inform  men  what  they  ought  to  believe  and  receive, 
to  show  them  how  they  may  find  out  what  is  true  and  right, 
and  to  direct  them  in  the  more  private  walks  of  life,  as  well  as 
when  they  appear  on  the  public  stage  of  the  world,  where  they 
may  have  the  advantage  of  seeing  the  examples  of  others;  it  is, 
whether  natural  religion,  of  itself,  discovers  all  that  a  man  is  to 
believe  concerning  God,  all  the  methods  necessary  for  him  to 
take  in  order  to  be  reconciled  to  him,  and  regain  his  favour,  and 
all  that  is  required  of  man  in  his  private,  relative,  and  social 
character. 

When  we  inquire  whether  reason  is  now  a  sufficient  rule,  the 
only  sense  in  which  we  can  take  the  light  of  nature,  or  natural 
religion,  is,  as  the  remains  of  natural  light  in  men  of  superior 
reason,  who  have  been  left  entirely  without  the  help  of  revela- 
tion of  any  kind;  and  if  it  is  tried  carefully,  or  viewed  in  this 
light,  it  will  appear  to  be  very  imperfect  and  deficient.  It  is 
easy  to  tell  us,  that  reason  is  reason,  truth  is  truth,  and  virtue  is 
virtue;  bnt  what  are  we  the  wiser  by  being  told  such  fine 
things,  if  we  find  ourselves  and  others  deficient  in  reason,  puz- 
zled about  truth,  and  apt  to  take  vice  for  virtue?  No  one  will 
say  cruelty  is  good,  but  how  many  think  that  persecution,  an 
enormous  vice,  is  lawful,  because  it  is  designed  for  good  ends, 
to  set  men  right,  and  to  keep  them  from  leading  others  wrong! 
It  is  easy  for  men  to  pick  things  out  of  Scripture,  and  to  prove 
them  agreeable  to  reason,  since  there  is  nothing  in  the  oracles 
of  God,  but  what  is  consonant  to  the  highest  reason ;  by  this 
means  a  very  beautiful  system  of  morality  may  be  put  together; 
but  can  this  be  a  delineation  of  the  religion  of  nature?  The 
only  way  to  judge  of  the  sufficiency,  on  the  one  hand,  and  of 
the  defects  on  the  other,  of  the  light  of  nature,  is  to  examine 
whether  it  brightly  shined,  or  was  greatly  shaded,  in  such  as 
had  nothing  else  to  illuminate  them,  and  who  yet  had  as  clear 
intellects,  and  as  great  knowledge  of  the  world,  as  any  now; 
and  who,  in  learning  and  politeness,  exceeded  many  of  our  new 
luminaries,  or  rather  comets,  who,  instead  of  increasing  our 
light,  disturb  the  world,  and  spread  error  and  irreligion.  If  it  is 
thus  tried,  the  light  of  nature  will  not  be  found  to  resemble  the 
sun,  when,  crowned  with  surpassing  glory,  it  illuminates  the 
earth,  but  rather  to  be  like  it,  when  in  dim  eclipse,  it  sheds 
gloom  and  twilight  over  some  parts  of  the  world,  and  so  puz- 
zles and  perplexes  such  as  are  not  acquainted  with  the  natural 
causes  of  its  being  darkened,  and  throws  them  into  a  state  of 
doubt  and  uncertainty. 

5 


34  OF   THE   INSUFFICIENCY   OF 

II.  I  shall  show  that  reason  is  not  a  perfect  rule  in  matters 
of  religion;  and  shall  answer  some  pleas  that  are  oifered  in 
behalf  of  the  monstrous  and  extravagant  supposition,  that  it  is 
a  sufficient  guide  in  sacred  matters. 

I  would  not  be  thought  to  have  respect  only  or  principally  to 
professed  Deists,  but  chiefly  to  regard  those  treacherous  advo- 
cates for  Christianity,  who,  under  pretence  of  writing  in  its  vin- 
dication, basely  and  vilely  betray  the  noblest  of  causes  to  avowed 
infidels.  It  is  only  to  have  the  good  word  of  the  enemies  of 
revelation,  who  happen,  through  the  degeneracy  of  our  unhappy 
times,  to  gain  a  great  vogue,  that  these  base,  ignoble,  and 
ungenerous  souls  prove  false  to  the  interest  of  Him,  whom  they 
call  their  master,  and  traitorously  give  it  up  to  his  open  enemies. 
That  they  give  up  the  cause  of  Christianity  to  the  adversaries 
of  revelation,  is  most  certain,  for  if  reason  is  of  itself  a  sufficient 
rule,  any  addition  to  what  is  of  itself  sufficient,  is  impertinent 
and  needless;  this  is  evident  to  the  dullest  capacity:  and  all  that 
can  be  said  in  favour  of  revelation,  by  such  as  make  this  con- 
cession, is  only  showing,  that  they  can  contradict  themselves; 
for  if  reason  is  of  itself  sufficient,  in  matters  of  religion,  what 
need  can  there  be  of  the  Christian  revelation?  Was  there  any 
necessity  to  make  known  any  thing  new,  and  to  require  it  to  be 
believed,  when  what  was  known  before  was  sufficient  without 
it?  This  is  granting  to  the  Deists,  that  though  there  may  be 
some  good  things  in  Christianity,  yet  there  was  no  absolute 
necessity  for  it,  which  is  what  they  desire  to  have  yielded  to 
them,  and  then  it  is  easy  for  them  to  show  the  absurdity  of  add- 
ing any  thing  to  what  was  good  enough  of  itself,  without  any 
such  addition.  It  is  very  well  known,  that  the  Deists  are  not 
wanting  to  make  use  of  this  extravagant  concession ;  and  any 
one,  who  consults  their  writings,  may  easily  see  that  they,  in 
reality,  say  very  little,  but  what  is  put  into  their  mouths,  by 
such  as  would  appear  to  stand  up  in  the  defence  of  revelation 
against  them,  but  either  through  ignorance,  or  treachery  betray 
the  cause  to  them:  whether  it  is  through  folly  or  knavery  that 
this  is  done,  it  is  certain,  they  who  are  guilty  of  doing  it,  have 
much  to  answer  for,  seeing  they  have  done  a  great  deal  more 
hurt  to  the  interest  of  Christ,  than  all  the  avowed  enemies  of  it, 
of  themselves,  ever  did  or  could  do. 

It  is  a  very  poor  way  of  arguing,  for  any*  to  tell  us,  "  That 

*  See  the  Plea  for  Human  Reason,  p.  47,  48.  This  is  said,  how  truly  I  know 
not,  to  be  written  by  Mr.  Jackson,  tlie  noted  Arian,  the  amanuensis  to  Dr.  Clarke 
in  the  memorable  dispute  with  Dr.  Waterland,  about  the  supreme  divinity  of  our 
blessed  Lord,  which  is  called,  by  the  ignorant  blasphemer  who  wrote  this  Plea,  a 
wretched  Antichristian  hypothesis.  If  Mr.  Jackson  is  the  author  of  the  Plea,  we 
may  judge  what  was  the  design  of  Dr.  Clarke  and  him,  in  advancing  Arianism, 
viz.  to  open  the  way  for  Deism.  Several  things  have  been  written  on  both  sides, 
on  the  question  I  am  upon,  since  these  sermons  were  preached,  which  was  in  No« 
vember,  1730,  but  I  have  chosen  to  let  them  appear  as  they  were  first  composed. 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  35 

the  true  preference  of  Christianity  is  (not  that  reason,  in  any 
state  of  men,  is  insufficient  in  itself  to  virtue  and  happiness,  but) 
that  Christianity  is  a  clearer  and  more  powerful  guide,  having 
improved  the  light  of  reason  by  the  supernatural  evidence  and 
declaration  of  God's  will,  and  final  intention  of  saving  sinners, 
by  the  free  pardon  of  them  for  the  sake  and  merits  of  the  death 
of  Christ,  which  mere  reason  was  not  able  to  discover  or  deter- 
mine, and  which  plain  declaration  of  the  means  of  man's  re- 
demption is  a  more  powerful  motive  and  obligation  to  univer- 
sal obedience,  than  reason  could  ever  with  certainty  propose." 
This  is  a  mere  heap  of  confusion  and  inconsistency.  It  is  very 
likely  there  is  a  juggle  in  using  that  odd  expression,  "  Reason 
in  any  state  of  men;"  but  if  it  means  any  thing,  it  must  have 
respect  to  reason  in  man's  present  corrupt  state  :  Now,  if  reason, 
of  itself,  is  a  sufficient  guide  to  virtue  and  happiness,  can  man 
need  any  thing  more  sufficient  than  a  sufficient  guide  ?  can  he 
need  to  be  guided  to  any  thing  better  than  to  virtue  and  happi- 
ness ?  certainly  not.  If  so,  then  there  is  no  necessity  for  a  clearer 
and  more  powerful  guide,  or  for  its  being  improved  by  the  su- 
pernatural declaration  of  God's  will,  relating  to  things  which 
it  could  not  discover,  or  for  more  powerful  motives  to  obedi- 
ence, than  it  could  ever  with  certainty  propose.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  there  was  need  of  the  Christian  revelation  to  be  a  more 
sure  light,  and  a  more  powerful  guide  than  reason  ;  if  there  was 
room  for  the  defects  of  the  light  of  nature  to  be  supplied,  by  the 
declaring  the  wonderful  plan  of  the  salvation  of  sinners,  on  the 
account  of  the  merits  of  the  death  of  Christ,  which  was  a  mys- 
tery that  was  out  of  the  ken  of  bare  reason ;  and  if  there  was 
cause  to  make  use  of  a  more  powerful  motive  to  universal  obe- 
dience to  the  will  of  their  great  Creator,  than  natural  religion 
could  ever  with  certainty  propose ;  if  these  things  are  true,  as 
they  certainly  are,  and  are  allowed  to  be  by  the  advocates  for 
reason,  it  will  inevitably  and  invincibly  follow,  that  reason  in 
men,  in  their  present  state,  is  not  a  sufficient  rule  to  guide  them 
to  virtue  and  happiness ;  and  it  may  justly  be  asserted,  that  the 
pleaders  for  its  sufficiency  are  stupid  enough  to  contradict  them- 
selves, in  saying,  in  the  same  breath,  that  it  is  sufficient,  and 
yet  there  is  need  for  its  being  still  made  more  sufficient. 

It  is  very  odd,  in  the  pleaders*  for  the  sufficiency  of  reason 
to  say,  that  "  Reason  (if  men  would  have  attended  to  it)  would 
always  have  given  them  sufficient  hopes  and  security  of  their 
acceptance  with  God,  upon  their  repentance,  and  sincere  best 
endeavours  to  do  what  was  right  and  good,  and  agreeable  to 
reason."  If  by  reason  is  meant  reason  in  the  abstract,  what  is 
said  is  entirely  impertinent ;  for  then  by  reason  we  must  under- 
stand whatever  is  truth,  and  the  whole  of  what  is  truth  must  be 
owned  to  be  sufficient,  to  instruct  men,  if  Ave  suppose  it  made 

*  Plea  for  Human  Reason,  p.  45. 


36  OF   THE    INSUFFICIENCY   OF 

known  to  them.  If  reason  is  taken  for  what  share  of  hght  men, 
in  their  present  state,  possess,  it  inevitably  follows,  from  what 
the  advocates  for  its  sufficiency  allow,  that  it  is  really  insuffi- 
cient: for  how  can  that  which  is  in  man,  be  his  sufficient  guide, 
if  he  has  a  propensity  not  to  attend  to  it,  but  has  such  a  mixture 
of  darkness  with  his  light,  that  he  is  at  a  loss  what  to  think  is 
best  for  him?  Men's  not  attending  to  the  dictates  of  right  rea- 
son, but  embracing  tilings  as  truths,  which  are  inconsistent 
with  it,  and  contrary  to  it,  shows  that  the  light  of  nature,  as  it  is 
noAV  in  them,  is  far  from  being  a  sufficient  guide  to  them  in 
matters  of  religion. 

It  is  not  agreeable  to  truth  to  say,  that  the  reason  of  any  finite 
being  is  perfect  or  sufficient,  in  an  absolute  sense;  but  if  this 
could  be  allowed,  it  does  not  alter  the  case  as  to  us,  who  are 
the  descendants  of  apostate  Adam:  our  nature,  as  we  are  fallen, 
sinful  creatures,  is  corrupt,  and  consequently  our  reason  is  no 
sure  light  to  guide  us,  because  there  is  in  our  understandings 
much  darkness,  mingled  with  a  httle  light.  We  need  not  de- 
sire a  more  plain  proof  of  the  imperfection  of  reason,  in  our  cor- 
rupt state,  than  what  we  may  gather  from  the  consideration  of 
the  errors  men  have  run  into,  who  have  set  up  their  reason  in 
opposition  to  the  mysteries  of  nature  and  revelation.  Many 
who  have  done  this,  liave  fully  come  to  what  the  apostle  Paul 
said  of  the  Gentiles,  Rom,  i.  22.  Professing  themselves  to  be 
wise,  they  became  fools.  When  their  pride  has  been  so  great, 
that  they  would  not  be  content  with  owning  the  great  mys- 
teries of  natural  religion,  without  explaining  the  manner  how 
they  are,  and  when  their  insolence  has  risen  so  high,  as  that 
they  have  set  up  their  reason  in  opposition  to  the  mysteries  of 
revelation,  they  have  showed  what  short-sighted  creatures  they 
are,  in  venting  opinions  as  most  rational,  which  are  entirely 
inconsistent  with  right  reason.  Some  have  not  been  able  to 
bring  themselves  to  own,  that  the  distinction  of  right  and  wrong 
is  dependent  on  the  will  of  God,  they  therefore  have  laid  down 
this  nonsensical  paradox,  that  there  are  moral  fitnesses  in  the 
reason  and  nature  of  things,  which  must  be  conceived  as  prior 
to  the  will  of  God;  and  hence  it  is  argued,  that  God  is  as  much 
bound  by  the  rules  of  justice  as  any  of  his  creatures.  That 
there  is  an  essential  diflerence  between  right  and  wrong,  is 
most  certain;  for  if  we  conceive  of  God  as  an  infinitely  good, 
just,  and  perfect  Being,  all  which  is  agreeable  to  his  will  must 
be  right,  and  all  which  is  contrary  to  him  must  be  wrong:  but 
it  is  perfect  nonsense  and  self-contradiction  to  conceive  of  any 
thing  prior,  in  order  of  nature,  to  the  first  cause;  it  is  most 
shocking  to  imagine,  that  the  independent  Being  should  be 
circumscribed  by  moral  fitnesses;  and  it  is  monstrous  to  affirm, 
that  the  sovereign  Lawgiver,  because  he  can  do  nothing  incon- 
sistent with  his  own  perfections,  is  bound  by  the  laws  he  gives. 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  37 

as  the  rule  of  his  rational  creatures'  acting.  Moral  fitnesses 
rising  from  the  nature  of  things,  are  only  the  old  Pagan  notion 
of  fate  revived;  and  such  as  are  fond  of  this  unintelligible  jargon, 
make  very  large  advances  towards  the  worst  sort  of  Atheism. 
It  is  a  dictate  of  right  reason,  which,  in  this  case,  is  abundantly 
confirmed  by  revelation,  that  there  is  only  one  supreme,  living, 
and  true  God,  who  is  the  sole  Creator  of  all  things:  the  Scrip- 
ture confirms  the  voice  of  natural  light,  that  there  is  but  one 
God:  but  it  most  clearly  reveals,  that  in  the  Unity  of  this  God- 
head, there  are  three  divine  Persons  of  the  same  substance  and 
perfections,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit:  how  these 
can  be  three  Persons,  and  yet  can  be  one  God,  is  a  thing  that  is 
not  revealed,  and  consequently  not  necessary  for  us  to  know; 
it  is  above  the  grasp  of  our  narrow,  corrupt  reason:  and,  in  all 
probability,  as  it  relates  to  the  substance  of  the  infinite  God,  it 
surpasses  the  understanding  of  the  most  perfect  creatures,  for 
that  is  only  finite.  Against  this  great  and  adorable  mystery, 
the  proud  pretenders  to  reason  rise  with  rage  and  rancour;  they 
charge  it  with  nonsense  and  contradiction:  but  what  have  these 
masters  in  buffoonery,  as  well  as  proficients  in  blasphemy,  offer- 
ed to  us  in  the  room  of  the  true  Scripture  doctrine  of  a  Trinity 
in  Unity.?  In  reality,  nothing  which  will  stand  the  test  of  good 
sense,  or  is  agreeable  to  right  reason.  Such  as  have  supposed 
the  Son  and  the  Spirit  to  be  different  names,  or  to  be  two  facul- 
ties, attributes,  properties,  or  powers  of  the  Father,  have  run 
into  a  scheme,  which,  if  it  was  true,  the  Scriptures  might  be  said 
not  to  be  written  with  good  sense;  seeing  it  would  be  strange, 
in  narrations  of  facts,  and  in  the  course  of  reasoning  and  debate, 
to  speak  of  the  Son  and  Spirit  in  the  strongest  language  of  per- 
sonality that  can  be  invented,  if  they  were  only  personalised 
by  bold  metaphors,  high  allegories,  or  strong  figures  of  speech. 
But  the  abettors  of  this  scheme  are  not  those  whom  I  principally 
have  regard  to ;  I  chiefly  refer  to  the  patrons  of  the  Arian  heresy, 
who  make  the  Son  and  the  Spirit  two  creatures.  These  sons 
of  darkness  contradict,  in  the  most  daring  manner,  the  funda- 
mental doctrine  of  natural  and  revealed  religion,  that  there  is 
but  one  infinitely  blessed  God;  for  they  suppose  two  creatures 
to  be  true  and  proper  Gods,  or  to  have  all  the  characters  of 
divinity,  except  supremacy,  independence,  and  necessary  exist- 
ence, and  so  endeavour  to  graft  upon  Christianity  the  heathen- 
ish jargon,  which  it  was  designed  to  militate  against,  that  though 
there  is  but  one  supreme  God,  there  may  be  subordinate  divini- 
ties. They  most  irrationally  allow,  that  creatures  may  be  em- 
ployed with  the  supreme  God,  in  creating  the  world,  or  in 
bringing  all  things  besides  themselves  into  being  out  of  nothing, 
and  so  run  into  the  greatest  of  absurdities,  in  supposing  created 
creators.  They  likewise  follow  the  Gentiles,  who  were  vain  in. 
their  imaginations,  and  whose  foolish  hearts  were  so  darkened 


38  OF   THE    INSUFFICIENCY   OF 

as  to  worship  the  creature  besides  the  Creator,  who  is  God 
blessed  for  ever;  for  though  they  degrade  the  Son  and  Spirit 
into  the  rank  of  dependent  beings,  yet  they  oifer  up  to  them 
subordinate  worship.  It  is  certain,  from  reason  and  Scripture, 
that  man  could  never  create  himself,  but  that  he  is  the  product 
of  the  Supreme  Being,  who  by  his  providence  sustains  him,  and 
by  his  bounty  supplies  his  wants,  and  consequently  that  he  is 
obliged  to  live  to  the  glory  of  the  Author  of  his  being,  and  is 
accountable  to  him  for  the  actions  of  his  life :  in  this  there  is 
nothing  but  what  is  agreeable  to  the  highest  reason,  yet  such 
is  the  infatuation  of  the  asserters  of  the  sufficiency  of  the  light 
of  nature,  that  they  reject  this  natural  doctrine,  and  pretend  that 
God  did  not  make  man  for  himself,  is  not  concerned  about  his 
breaking  his  laws,  and  that  he  is  not  accountable  to  the  Most 
High:  so  that  the  living  God  must  be  supposed  to  be  an  indo- 
lent being,  not  mindful  what  those  who  are  the  product  of  his 
hands  do,  in  contempt  of  his  authority. 

If  these  things  are  duly  considered,  it  is  as  insolent  as  it  is 
erroneous,  in  the  patrons  of  reason,  to  stand  up  for  the  suffi- 
ciency of  it  in  matters  of  religion.  However  it  may  be  in 
others,  it  is  apparent  that  it  is  greatly  debased  in  these  muddy 
creatures,  who  will  not  make  use  of  the  common  helps  that  are 
thrown  in  their  way,  to  guard  them  against  the  most  gross 
absurdities.  They  come  under  the  judgment  which  Moses,  by 
commission  from  God,  threatened  should  come  upon  Israel,  in 
case  of  disobedience,  when  he  said,  Deut.  xxviii.  28,  29:  "The 
Lord  shall  strike  thee  with  madness,  and  blindness,  and  aston- 
ishment of  heart;  and  thou  shalt  grope  at  noonday,  as  the 
blind  gropes  in  darkness,  and  shalt  not  prosper  in  thy  ways." 
Though  reason  improved  by  revelation  proclaims,  that  the 
supreme  God  is  our  Judge  and  Lawgiver,  that  there  is  but  one 
living  God,  who  is  our  Creator,  and  who  is  to  be  worshipped 
by  us,  and  that  in  him  we  live,  move,  and  have  our  being,  and 
to  him  must  give  an  account  of  our  actions;  yet  they  shut  their 
eyes  against  what  light  they  might  have,  in  their  state  of  frailty 
and  imperfection,  and  go  about  to  palm  upon  the  ignorant  such 
irrational  stuff  as  this,*  that  there  is  a  cause  prior  to  the  first 
cause ;  that  the  independent  Sovereign  is  himself  dependent : 
that  creatures  may  be  subordinate  deities,  dependent  creators, 
to  be  worshipped  with  inferior  divine  worship;  that  He  who 
sits  at  the  liead  of  the  empire  of  providence,  has  brought  into 
being  rational  creatures,  which  he  made  not  for  himself,  and 
which  are  not  accountable  to  him.  Let  the  pleaders  for  the 
sufficiency  of  reason  of  itself,  without  a  revelation  to  be  a  guide 
in  religion,  blush,  when  they  show  it  to  be  so  insufficient  in 

*  I  am  not  concerned  whether  all  these  paradoxes  have  been  started  by  any  one 
advocate  for  the  sufficiency  of  reason;  it  is  enough,  if  each  has  been  maintained  by 
any  one  of  the  anti-scriptural  faction,  who  yet  call  themselves  Christians. 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  39 

themselves,  in  bolting  out  such  glaring  absurdities;  and  let  them 
no  longer  assume  to  themselves  the  title  of  men  of  reason,  when 
reason  is  sunk  so  low  in  them.  When  we  think  on  the  irra- 
tional things  they  amuse  themselves  with,  we  cannot  but  see 
how  God  is  secretly  pleading  his  own  cause,  even  by  their 
folly;  they  receive  not  the  truth  in  the  love  of  it,  and  he  in 
judgment  gives  them  over  to  strong  delusions,  so  that  they  are 
fond  of  the  most  senseless  figments  which  appear  in  the  garb 
of  novelty.  When  they,  through  pride,  cry  up  their  own  reason, 
to  the  disparagement  of  Scripture,  they  are  left  to  dote  upon 
irrational  vanities,  which  are  a  disgrace  to  that  very  reason, 
which  they  labour,  by  undue  methods,  to  advance  to  a  height 
to  which  it  can  never  justly  be  raised. 

The  treacherous  betrayers  of  revelation,  who  stand  up  for  the 
sufficiency  of  natural  religion,  would  not  appear  to  renounce  the 
Christian  doctrine,  which  they  really  give  up  into  the  hands  of 
the  Deists,  its  implacable  enemies,  and  therefore  they  pretend  to 
give  full  proof  of  the  sufficiency  of  human  reason  in  matters  of 
religion,  from  Scripture  itself  Had  there  been  such  proof,  it 
must  have  been  owned  to  have  been  strange;  for  then  Scrip- 
ture would  have  declared  itself  not  to  have  been  absolutely  ne- 
cessary for  the  uses  of  men  ;  but  the  case  is  far  from  being  what 
these  inaccurate  blunderers  would  give  out.  They  appear  only 
to  have  cast  their  eyes  on  some  passages  of  sacred  writ,  and  to 
have  laid  hold  of  them,  as  in  sound,  seeming  to  countenance 
their  cause,  but  not  to  have  considered  the  texts  they  bring  in 
connexion  with  the  context.  In  their  manner  of  quoting  Scrip- 
ture, they  imitate  exactly  the  father  of  lies,  who  when  he  tempt- 
ed the  God  of  truth  manifested  in  the  flesh,  cited  Scripture  only 
to  curtail  it,  and  to  wrest  it  from  its  genuine  sense.  Their  ar- 
guings  are  so  mean,  that  a  person  almost  needs  pardon  who  goes 
about  to  answer  them;  however,  let  us  see  what  they  have  to 
say  to  keep  their  wretched  cause  in  countenance,  and  to  fence 
off  conviction  from  themselves. 

It  is  insolently  said,*  that  the  doctrine  of  the  sufficiency  of 
human  reason  is  the  doctrine  of  the  apostle  Peter,  who  said 
thus.  Acts  X.  34,  35,  with  respect  to  Cornelius,  "  Of  a  truth  I 
perceive  that  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons ;  but,  in  every  na- 
tion, he  that  fears  him,  and  works  righteousness,  is  accepted  of 
him."  From  hence  this  strange  inference  is  drawn,  that  it  ap- 
pears, that,  in  every  heathen  nation,  they  who  followed  the  light 
of  their  natural  reason  and  conscience,  feared  God;  whence  it 
follows,  that  in  the  judgment  of  the  apostle,  every  heathen,  by 
the  light  of  natural  reason,  had  a  sufficient  guide  to  lead  him  to 
the  religious  fear  of  God.  Now,  nothing  can  be  more  contrary 
to  the  apostle's  sense  than  this :  he  did  not  speak  of  heathen, 
who  were  left  to  the  bare  light  of  nature,  being  able,  by  the  help 
*  Plea  for  Human  Reason,  p.  49,  50. 


40  OF   THE    INSUFFICIENCY   OF 

of  that,  to  fear  God;  bathe  owned  his  conviction,  that  salvation 
by  Christ  was  not  to  be  confined  to  the  Jewish  nation,  but  was 
to  be  made  known  to  the  Gentile  world.  Cornelius  was  one  of 
good  report  among  the  Jews,  or  one  who  was  a  proselyte  to  the 
Jewish  religion,  but  was  not  circumcised,  being  one  of  those 
who  were  called  proselytes  of  the  gate,  and  so  he  had  the  Scrip- 
tures of  tiie  Old  Testament  to  instruct  him,  and  was  not  left  to 
the  bare  light  of  nature.  Besides,  when  he,  under  some  doubt, 
prayed  for  illumination,  he  was  directed,  by  an  angel  appearing 
to  him  to  apply  himself  to  the  apostle  Peter  for  instruction, 
which  is  a  certain  evidence,  that  his  natural  light  was  not  a  suf- 
ficient guide:  in  all  probability  the  thing  he  desired  to  be  in- 
formed in,  was  the  truth  of  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth; because,  when  Peter  came  to  instruct  him.  Acts  x.  36,  41, 
42,  he  declared  Christ's  supreme  Deity,  or  that  he  is  Lord  of  all; ' 
he  asserted  the  truth  of  his  resurrection,  of  which  he  had  been 
an  eye-witness,  having  ate,  drunk,  and  freely  conversed  with 
his  risen  Master;  and  he  showed  him,  that  this  Jesus  who  died, 
rose  and  revived,  was  ordained  to  be  Judge  of  the  quick  and 
dead.  These  were  things  which  the  light  of  nature  never 
taught;  yet  they  were  matters  in  which  the  great  apostle  thought 
it  was  necessary  to  instruct  Cornelius  and  his  friends.  A  man 
must  then  have  a  very  odd  turn  of  head,  who  can  bring  him- 
self to  fancy,  that  Peter  judged  the  light  of  nature  was  sufficient 
to  guide  those  whom  he  instructed  in  things  above  it,  into  the 
religious  fear  of  God.  Had  the  case  been  so,  Cornelius  would 
not  have  needed  to  have  been  directed  by  an  angel  to  send  for 
Peter,  in  order  to  show  him  what  it  was  that  God  would  have 
him  to  do. 

We  are  told,*  that  seeing  the  apostle  Paul,  Rom.  ii.  10,  has 
declared,  that  "glory,  honour,  and  peace,  would  be  to  every 
one  that  works  good,  to  the  Jew  first,  and  also  to  the  Gentile," 
it  follows,  that  the  law  of  reason,  by  which  they  were  to  be 
finally  judged,  was  a  sufficient  guide  in  matters  of  religion  and 
salvation,  to  those  who  knew  not  the  gospel :  but  it  is  amazing, 
that  such  masters  of  reason  could  not  see,  that  the  apostle  here 
spake  of  such  Jews  and  Gentiles  as  had  received  the  Christian 
faith ;  for  he  intimated  as  plainly  as  words  could  do  it,  that  the 
persons  he  had  mentioned,  Jews  as  well  as  Gentiles,  were  to  be 
judged,  as  to  their  sincerity,  or  "  the  secrets  of  their  hearts,  ac- 
cording to  the  gospel  which  he  had  preached."  Rom.  ii.  16. 
Whether  it  was  from  the  stupidity  of  these  perverse  disputers, 
that  they  could  not  see  this,  or  whether  it  was  from  their  kna- 
very, that  they  would  not  see  it,  is  not  easy  to  be  determined  ; 
they  may  choose  which  they  please.  The  apostle  had  not  re- 
spect to  such  as  knew  not  the  gospel,  but  to  such  as  had  received 
it,  and  made  a  profession  of  it ;  and  it  is  mere  ignorance  to  take 

*PIea  for  Human  Reason,  p.  50,  51. 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  4| 

him  as  owning  the  light  of  nature  to  be  a  sufficient  guide,  as 
well  as  great  conceit,  to  put  off  such  blundering  stuff  for  argu- 
ment. 

It  is  further  pleaded,*  that  the  same  apostle  Paul  has  said, 
Hebrews  xi.  6,  "  He  that  comes  to  God  must  believe  that  he  is, 
and  that  he  is  the  rewarder  of  them  that  diligently  seek  him." 
From  hence  a  conclusion  is  drawn,  that  if  reason,  or  the  law 
of  nature,  has  the  sanction  of  rewards  and  punishments  annex- 
ed to  it,  it  must  follow,  that  it  is  a  sufficient  guide  in  matters 
of  religion.  These  deceivers,  when  they  urged  this  text,  took 
care  to  suppress  the  words  immediatelj'-  preceding  those  they 
have  alleged,  "  Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God ;" 
in  which  it  is  most  certain,  the  apostle  meant  faith  in  God, 
as  reconciled  in  and  through  Christ;  and  faith  in  Christ  as  a 
Mediator,  which  is  a  thing  not  known  by  the  light  of  nature. 
Without  faith  in  Christ,  it  is  not  possible  for  any  to  be  accept- 
able to  God ;  for  whoever  comes  to  him,  so  as  to  meet  with  a 
kind  reception,  must  believe  that  he  is  a  just  and  a  holy  God, 
and  as  such  can  only  reward  his  fallen  creatures,  who  diligently 
seek  him,  in  and  through  a  Mediator,  on  the  account  of  his 
merit,  and  not  on  the  account  of  any  fancied  desert  in  them; 
seeing  they  are  so  far  from  laying  him  under  any  obligation  by 
what  their  hands  can  find  to  do,  that  they  would  not  be  able  to 
answer  for  the  sins  that  cleave  to  their  best  performances,  if  he 
was  to  deal  with  them  as  an  absolute  God. 

To  take  notice  but  of  one  thing  more,  the  sufficiency  of  reason 
to  be  man's  guide,  is  urged,!  from  the  wise  king  Solomon's 
declaring,  Ecclesiastes  vii.  29,  that  "  God  made  man  upright:" 
but  this  truly  great  master  of  reason  knew  better ;  for  he 
declared  it  to  be  the  result  of  his  long  and  diligent  search  after 
wisdom,  that  reason  is  not  a  sufficient  guide,  by  reason  of  man's 
apostasy  from  God,  by  which  it  is  corrupted :  his  words  are, 
"  This  only  have  I  found,  that  God  made  man  upright,  but 
they  have  sought  out  many  inventions."  The  latter  part  of  the 
words  the  antiscriptural  tribe  have  suppressed,  as  if  they  could 
not  quote  Scripture  in  a  way  different  from  the  author  of  evil. 
"  God  made  man  upright ;"  his  understandhig  was  without  sinful 
defects,  but  in  his  primeval  state  his  reason  was  not  a  sufficient 
rule,  for  he  needed  instruction  from  God;  the  case  of  his  poste- 
rity is  worse,  their  reason  is  depraved  and  corrupted ;  they  not 
only  are  ignorant  of  many  things,  but  they  are  prone  to  follow 
errors,  to  run  into  dangerous  mistakes,  and  to  please  themselves 
with  many  idle  inventions ;  among  which  this  is  not  the  least 
pernicious,  that  sinful  creatures  should  have  the  impudence  to 
assert,  that  reason  or  the  light  of  nature,  in  their  present  state 
is  a  sufficient  guide  to  them  in  religious  matters. 

*  Plea,  p.  51,  52.  t  Plea,  p.  53. 


42  OF   THE    INSUFFICIENCY   OF 


APPLICATION. 

Seeing  pride  is  at  the  bottom  of  all  the  opposition  which  is 
made  to  the  revelation  afforded  us  by  God,  and  seeing  it  is  this 
makes  vain  and  conceited  men  cry  up  reason  as  a  perfect  rule, 
to  the  disparagement  of  revelation,  it  cannot  be  an  unseasonable 
admonition  to  professed  Christians,  nay,  to  all  who  pretend  to 
be  searching  after  truth,  to  be  careful  how  they  give  way  to  a 
proud  conceit  of  their  own  understandings.  The  high  thoughts 
which  creatures  have  entertained  of  their  own  intellectual  abi- 
lities, have  been  the  source  and  spring  of  all  the  apostasy  and 
rebellion  against  the  Most  High,  which  we  have  been  acquaint- 
ed with.  Whatever  was  the  particular  sin,  which  occasioned 
the  thrusting  of  Satan,  and  all  the  legions  of  the  heavenly  hosts, 
which  banded  under  his  ensigns  against  the  Highest,  down  from 
Heaven,  it  is  pretty  certain  that  it  took  its  rise  from  pride.  This 
we  may  easily  gather  from  a  passage  of  the  apostle  Paul,  wherein 
he  prescribes  it  as  a  standing  rule,  that  a  bishop,  or  pastor  of  a 
gospel  church,  must  not  be  a  novice,  which  is  not  so  much  meant 
of  one  young  in  years,  as  of  one  who  had  newly  taken  up  a  pro- 
fession of  the  Christian  faith,  and  was  but  raw  in  the  knowledge 
of  the  doctrines  of  revelation.  The  reason  why  a  pastor  ought 
not  to  be  a  novice  is,  1  Tim.  iii.  6,  "  Lest  being  lifted  up,  or 
blown  up,  with  pride,  he  should  fall  into  the  condemnation  of 
the  devil."  If  pride  was  the  cause  of  the  devil's  condemnation, 
it  must  be  twisted  with  his  first  sin.  It  was  a  proud  imagina- 
tion, that  they  could  make  their  condition  better  than  that  in 
which  the  wisdom  of  a  beneficent  Creator  had  placed  them, 
which  drew  a  great  number  of  the  potentates  of  heaven  to  rise 
in  rebellious  arms  against  the  God  from  whom  they  received 
their  being;  and  it  was  a  vain  desire  of  being  higher  than  they 
were  made  by  the  sovereign  Lord  of  nature,  that  engaged  thou- 
sands of  angels  in  impious  league  against  their  King,  for  which 
they  were  cast  out  of  heaven,  and  are  doomed  to  spend  eternal 
ages  in  wo  and  pain;  they  are  now  suffered  to  range  about  the 
world,  but  still  they  are,  as  it  were,  in  chains:  but,  at  the  last 
and  the  great  day,  they  will  receive  fulness  of  torment ;  and, 
being  shut  up  in  hell,  they  will  groan  for  ever  under  the  weight 
of  almighty  vengeance,  which  will  glorify  itself  in  punishing 
them  for  their  pride  and  rebellion.  It  was  also  pride  which 
was  the  source  of  the  wo  we  feel,  by  reason  of  the  fall  of  our 
first  parents.  It  does  not  appear,  from  the  Scripture  account 
of  the  first  apostasy  of  man,  that  the  devil  could  plant  any 
temptation  on  our  progenitors,  till  he  had  blown  them  up  to  a 
proud  conceit,  that  they  could  make  their  condition  happier 
than  it  was,  by  transgressing  the  law  of  their  Creator.  When 
the  tempter  attacked  our  general  mother.  Gen.  iii.  56,  as  he 
endeavoured  to  work  her  up  to  an  imagination,  that  it  was 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  43 

through  envy  that  God  had  debarred  her  husband  and  her  from 
eating  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowledge,  lest  they  should  be  like 
him  in  knowledge,  he  laboured  to  raise  pride  in  her  by  assuring 
her,  that  if  she  once  tasted  of  the  fruit  which  she  feared  to  touch, 
she  should  tower  to  divinity,  or  be  like  God  in  knowledge. 
What  he  urged  was  this :  "  God  knows  that  in  the  day  you  eat 
of  it,  then  your  eyes  shall  be  opened,  and  you  shall  be  as  gods, 
knowing  good  and  evil."  It  was  this  sly  suggestion  that 
made  the  first  of  women  look  with  eager  longing  eyes  on  the 
goodly  fruit,  which  hung  on  the  forbidden  tree ;  and  it  was  a 
persuasion  that  she  should  rise  in  knowledge,  which  induced 
her,  in  an  evil  hour,  to  reach  forth  her  rash  hand,  to  pluck  and 
eat  what  plunged  her  into  ruin.  And  it  is  very  likely,  by  urging 
the  arguments  which  the  devil  had  used  to  induce  her  to  undo 
herself,  that  she  prevailed  on  our  common  father  to  follow  her 
example,  out  of  a  vain  conceit  of  having  a  part  with  her  in  her 
imagined  happiness,  and  so  to  complete  the  first  transgression. 

It  must  be  owned,  that  our  first  parents  did  gain  knowledge 
by  eating  the  forbidden  fruit,  but  it  was  knowledge  they  had 
better  have  been  without ;  it  was  an  experimental  knowledge 
of  what  was  evil.  They  soon  found  their  eyes  opened ;  but 
what  was  this  to  discover?  It  was  to  show  them,  that  their 
minds  were  darkened ;  that  innocence,  which,  as  a  veil,  had 
shaded  them  from  knowing  ill,  was  gone;  that  they  had  lost  the 
image  of  their  mighty  Maker,  which  before  shone  in  them  in 
wisdom,  and  severe  and  pure  sanctity;  that  they  were  stripped 
of  their  just  confidence,  primitive  integrity,  original  righteous- 
ness, and  native  honour;  and  that  they  were  left  naked  to  guilty 
shame.  This  was  the  unhappy  prospect  which  presented  itself 
to  them,  when  they  first  opened  their  eyes  to  behold  evil ;  and 
this  knowledge  may  be  said  to  be  dearly  bought,  by  the  loss  of 
pleasures  and  joys  which  were  sufficient  to  satiate  their  craving 
desires,  and  would,  if  they  had  continued  in  honour,  have  lasted 
for  ever. 

Thus  we  find  from  Scripture,  that  pride  and  self-sufficiency 
have  been  the  causes  of  all  the  evils  which  have  infested  the 
intellectual  world ;  of  the  apostasy  of  many  thousands  of  the 
princes  of  light,  and  of  the  defection  of  our  first  parents,  by 
which  sin  and  wo  have  been  entailed  on  us  their  unhappy 
posterity;  and  when  we  see  such  direful  eftects  following  pride, 
if  we  regard  our  true  interest,  we  shall  stand  at  a  distance  from 
a  sin  that  is  so  afi"ronting  to  God.  When  men  cry  up  the  suffi- 
ciency of  reason;  when  they  refuse  to  assent  to  the  mysteries 
of  revelation,  because  they  cannot  comprehend  the  manner  of 
them;  and  when  they  will  not  be  content  without  being  wise 
above  what  is  written;  they  only  follow  the  example  of  the 
angels  that  sinned,  and  of  the  first  man,  who,  when  he  was  in 
honour,  continued  not,  but  made  himself  and  his  posterity  more 


44  OF   THE   INSUFFICIENCY  OF 

miserable  than  the  brutes  that  perish :  they  show  they  are  under 
the  influence  of  that  impure  apostate  spirit,  who  seduced  their 
first  parents  to  break  the  covenant  with  their  God,  and  that  they 
are  tiie  true  descendants  of  the  unhappy  pair,  who  lost  their 
primeval  glory,  out  of  a  foolish  desire  of  being  independent  of 
God,  and  knowing  more  than  he  thought  fit  to  reveal. 

Considering  these  things,  let  us  not  be  lifted  up  with  pride, 
on  the  account  of  our  rational  attainments,  but  let  us  be  hum- 
bled from  a  sense  of  the  imperfection  of  our  reason,  and  let  a 
sense  of  this  imperfection  put  us  upon  thinking  on  our  fall  and 
apostasy  from  God :  let  us  be  thankful  that  we  are  not  left  to 
the  dim  light  of  nature,  but  that  we  have  a  more  sure  direc- 
tory, in  the  written  law  of  God,  than  could  be  obtained  by  us, 
if  we  were  left  to  the  guidance  of  our  own  reason:  let  us  prize 
and  value  the  Scriptures,  which  give  us  an  account  of  our  sal- 
vation by  Christ ;  let  us  search  into  them,  and,  with  reverence, 
receive  the  mysteries  which  are  revealed  in  them,  which  may 
be  above  our  full  comprehension ;  but  let  us  never  attempt  to 
be  wise  above  what  is  written,  by  affecting  to  know  the  mode 
of  these  mysteries  which  is  not  revealed;  and  let  us,  at  all  times, 
be  much  in  prayer  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  he  would  give  us 
light  into  those  great  things  of  God,  which  the  natural  man 
receives  not,  but  accounts  foolishness,  and  which  the  man  of 
mere  rational  attainments  will  never  know,  because  they  are 
spiritually  discerned. 

Now  to  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  three  divine 
Persons,  but  one  King  eternal,  immortal,  invisible,  and  the 
)nly  wise  God,  be  honour  and  glory  ascribed,  henceforth 
iud  for  evermore.    Amen. 


SERMON  n. 

Rom.  i.  22. — Professing  themselves  to  be  wise,  they  became  fools. 

If  we  take  for  true  the  Scripture  account  of  the  fall  of  our  first 
parents,  we  shall  find,  that  the  desire  of  knowing  more  than 
God  had  revealed,  was  the  spring  of  that  apostasy  from  the 
Author  of  blessedness,  the  sad  effects  of  which  defection  we 
now  feel,  and  shall  feel  as  long  as  we  continue  our  journey 
through  this  tiresome  wilderness;  where  we  meet  with  very 
little  that  is  truly  comfortable,  but  are  forced,  after  climbing  up 
rocks  of  perils,  to  descend  and  stray  through  vales  of  tears. 
Had  our  common  parents  been  content  with  their  happy  lot, 
sin,  and  its  concomitant,  death,  had  never  entered  the  world; 
we  should  have  had  no  trouble  to  grieve  us,  nor  atflictions  to 
harass  and  distress  us,  but  we  should  have  spent  our  easy  hours 
in  blessing  and  praising  the  beneficent  Creator,  and  our  time 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  45 

would  have  pleasantly  glided  away  in  the  service  of  our  mighty 
Potentate,  that  gave  us  our  being;  who  would  have  made  every 
thing  about  us  to  have  tended  to  our  comfort.  When  man  was 
clad  in  honour,  and  was  a  happy  creature,  he  was  not  content 
with  his  desirable  station,  but  aspired  after  an  independence  on 
his  Maker;  he  was  ambitious  to  be  as  God,  knowing  good  and 
evil;  he  vainly  thought,  by  gratifying  his  own  will,  to  tower  to 
divinity,  and  by  transgressing  the  law  of  his  supreme  Lord,  to 
be  like  him  in  knowledge :  but,  alas !  he  was  greatly  mistaken ; 
he  lost  the  knowledge  of  what  is  good,  and  to  his  cost,  found 
that  he  had  acquired  the  experimental  knowledge  of  what  was 
evil.  As  we  partake  of  the  curse  which  he  entailed  upon  us, 
so  the  temper  which  prevailed  in  him,  when  he  first  imagined 
that  it  was  out  of  envy,  lest  he  should  become  his  equal,  that 
God  had  debarred  him  the  fruit  of  one  tree,  has  the  predomi- 
nance in  all  his  miserable  posterity,  if  they  are  left  to  them- 
selves, and  are  given  up  to  the  guidance  of  their  imperfect 
reason.  Pride  so  much  possesses  the  heart  of  men,  in  their 
degenerate  state,  that  though  they  can  never  bring  themselves 
to  believe  they  are  stronger  than  God,  and  able  to  cast  him 
from  his  throne,  yet  they  evidence  that  they  grieve  to  see  his 
glory,  and  earnestly  desire  to  be  independent  on  him.  Were 
not  the  disputers  of  this  world  swayed  by  obdurate  pride,  and 
were  not  their  hearts  filled  with  envy,  hatred,  and  rancour 
against  God,  then  would  they  ever  suggest  that  they  are  not 
accountable  to  that  Supreme  Being  who  created  them,  who 
preserves  them  from  outward  harms  and  dangers,  and  whose 
goodness  keeps  them  every  moment  from  death  and  destruction? 
What  detestable  arrogance  is  it  for  the  contemptible  reptiles  of 
the  earth  to  say,  that  he  who  formed  out  of  nothing,  has  not 
any  thing  to  do  with  those  on  whom  he  has  bestowed  an  exist- 
ence !  Yet  to  such  a  height  is  daring  infidelity  come,  that  rea- 
son must  be  set  up  as  a  perfect  rule,  though  men  are  granted 
to  be  more  swayed  by  their  passions  than  by  reason,  and  the 
distinctions  of  right  and  wrong  are  given  out  to  be  independent 
on  the  will  of  God,  and  to  be  founded  on  we  know  not  what 
nature  of  things. 

What  has  been  of  late  advanced  in  favour  of  reason,  amounts 
to  no  more  than  this:  Reason  ought  to  be  a  perfect  rule,  there- 
fore it  is  a  perfect  rule;  and  a  perfect  rule  needs  no  addition; 
therefore  all  which  God  has  revealed,  which  reason  could  not 
have  found  out,  is  impertinent  and  needless.  If  this  matter  is 
brought  to  a  fair  trial,  the  religion  of  nature  must  not  be  con- 
sidered as  men  have  pieced  it  up,  by  the  help  of  Scripture,  but 
in  the  state  in  which  it  has  been  among  able,  thinking,  and 
polished  men,  who  had  no  other  helps  than  such  as  reason  fur- 
nished them  with,  and  had  no  correspondence  with  such  as  iiad 
their  reason  enlarged  by  the  help  of  the  oracles  of  God.     And 


46  OF   THE   INSUFFICIENCY   OF 

if  it  is  thus  weighed,  which  is  weighing  it  in  the  balance  of  tmth 
and  justice,  it  will  be  found  wanting.  They  who  have  made 
the  greatest  improvements  in  natural  religion,  were  quite  con- 
founded as  to  many  points,  which  must  be  owned  to  be  of  the 
utmost  consequence,  and  the  last  concern  to  men  in  their  de- 
praved state. 

If  we  were  fairly  to  examine  the  matter  of  fact,  or  consider 
how  sufficient  or  insufficient  the  light  of  nature  has  appeared  to 
be,  we  should  confine  ourselves  strictly  to  such  as  we  have  the 
firmest  evidence  to  conclude  were  left  without  any  assistance 
gained  by  intercourse  with  those  who  had  the  benefit  of  reve- 
lation, or  even  by  commerce  with  them  that  had  an  opportu- 
nity to  borrow  a  little  light  from  them.  If  we  were  to  take  the 
standard  of  the  light  of  nature  from  such  nations  as  the  Chinese, 
and  the  inhabitants  of  Japan,  though  we  must  allow  them  to 
be  as  well  bred  people,  as  nice  and  curious  in  the  manual  arts, 
and  as  completely  skilled  in  trade,  as  any  of  the  polished  nations 
of  the  West,  yet  we  should  find  they  have  run  into  the  most 
gross  and  irrational  errors  about  the  worship  of  God;  and 
though  some  good  moral  precepts  have  been  delivered  by  Zanfu, 
or  Confucius,  yet  many  vile  notions,  as  to  practical  duties,  are 
received  among  them.  We  know  not  what  intercourse  there 
might  be  formerly  between  them  and  the  eastern  nations,  that 
lay  nearer  to  the  places  which  were  the  seats  of  true  know- 
ledge; so  that  it  cannot  be  said,  that  what  good  things  they 
receive,  they  found  out  without  help.  The  easiest  way  to  judge, 
whether  reason,  in  the  present  state  of  mankind,  is-  a  sufficient 
rule  in  matters  of  religion,  is  to  examine  how  far  it  is  a  guide 
to  the  aborigines  of  North  America,  who  had  no  commerce 
with  any  other  nations  before  the  Europeans  settled  there,  and 
had  no  helps  further  than  what  nature  dictated.  If  reason  is 
viewed  as  it  exerts  itself  in  them,  who  yet  are  a  quick,  and  not 
a  stupid  sort  of  people,  it  will  appear  to  be  far  from  being  a 
sufficient  guide. 

When  we  consent  to  try  the  merits  of  the  cause  by  the 
writings  of  such  pagans  as  lived  in  Greece  and  at  Rome,  before 
Christ,  it  is  allowing  more  than  the  pleaders  for  the  sufficiency 
of  reason  can  demand  of  us.  After  Cyrus,  king  of  Persia,  had 
conquered  Croesus,  king  of  Lydia,  and  made  Asia  the  Less  a 
province  of  his  great  dominions,  there  was  more  intercourse 
between  the  eastern  nations  and  the  Greeks,  than  was  before. 
We  have  only  two  pagan  writers  before  this  period.  Homer 
and  Hesiod,  who  embraced  the  system  of  theology  invented  by 
Orpheus;  and  as  he  had  borrowed  some  things  from  the  Egyp- 
tians, which  they  had  from  the  Israelites,  so,  in  the  writings  of 
these  two  poets,  there  are  some  traces  of  Eastern  knowledge. 
After  Cyrus's  time,  the  Greeks  knew  more  of  the  eastern  affairs 
than  before,  and  some  of  their  most  eminent  philosophers,  and 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  47 

most  ancient  writers,  travelled  into  Syria  and  Egypt;  so  that  it 
is  no  wonder  if  we  find  some  things  in  them,  consonant  to  what 
we  meet  with  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament.  Joseph, 
in  his  apology  for  the  Jewish  religion,  Justin,  Tatian,  Theophilus, 
TertuUian,  Minutius  Felix,  and  Origen,  in  their  defences  of 
Christianity,  charged  the  pagans  with  borrowing  their  best 
notions  from  the  Old  Testament,  and  arraigned  them  for  ingrati- 
tude, for  not  owning  from  whence  they  had  assistance ;  the  same 
matter  was  more  distinctly  pursued  by  the  learned  Clement  of 
Alexandria,  by  Lactantius,  and  the  great  Eusebius:  but  none 
among  the  ancients  have  handled  this  point  with  more  judgment 
than  that  rational  and  polite  divine,  Theodoret ;  he  has  left  us 
an  admirable  treatise,*  wherein  he,  with  a  great  deal  of  strength 
of  argument,  with  an  agreeable  variety  of  learning,  and  in  most 
elegant  and  nervous  diction,  has  proved  that  the  most  celebrated 
philosophers  among  the  Greeks  had  borrowed  their  most  ele- 
vated speculations  concerning  the  true  God,  from  the  Jews.t 
The  Romans  had  all  their  philosophy  from  the  Greeks,  so  that 
they  only  have  copied  out  such  as  were  but  copies  themselves. 
It  is,  therefore,  making  further  concessions  than  we  are  obliged 
to  do,  for  us  to  take  the  ancient  Greek  and  Roman  letters  for 
the  standard  by  which  we  judge  of  the  insufliciency  of  rea- 
son. 

However,  if  we  find,  that,  notwithstanding  the  helps  the  an- 
cient pagans  had,  natural  religion  was  far  from  being  a  suffi- 
cient guide,  in  sacred  matters,  our  cause  will  not  lose,  but  gain, 
by  thus  trying  reason.  I  shall  wave  considering  what  improve- 
ments were  made  by  such  writers  as  Seneca,  Epictetus,  Arrian, 
the  emperor  Antoninus,  or  the  later  Platonists,  because  they 
lived  after  Christianity  was  spread  over  the  world;  and,  as  the 
modern  delineators  of  natural  religion  have  since  done,  took 
from  thence  what  they  liked.  I  shall  confine  myself  principally, 
though  not  wholly,  to  what  Socrates's  scholars  have  preserved 
from  him,  and  to  the  writings  of  Plato.  It  must  be  owned, 
these  two  men  had  far  better  notions,  as  to  some  things,  than 
any  of  the  other  heathen;  but  yet  they,  and  all  other  pagans, 
had  very  dark  and  obscure  conceptions  about  the  unity  and 
worship  of  God,  the  creation  of  the  world,  the  corruption  of 
mankind,  the  way  to  be  reconciled  to  an  offended  God,  the 
nature  of  virtue,  and  a  future  state.  These  are  points  which  are 
of  the  utmost  concern  to  all  persons,  at  all  times;  as  to  these, 
the  wisest  among  the  Gentiles  were  puzzled  and  perplexed, 
which  would  not  have  been  the  case,  if  natural  religion  had 
been  a  sufficient  guide.     That  they  were  actually  at  a  loss 

*  His  Therapeutics  in  twelve  books,  in  the  fourth  volume  of  liis  works. 

t  This  matter  lias,  since  my  engaging  in  this  subject,  been  well  stated  by  my 
worthy  and  learned  friend,  Dr.  Waterland,  in  his  charge  to  the  clergy  of  Middle- 
sex, p.  10,  &c. 


48  OF   THE    INSUFFICIENCY   OF 

about  these  momentous  things,  will  clearly  appear,  if  we  take 
an  impartial  survey. 

I.  The  light  of  nature  convinces  men  that  there  is  one  supreme 
Beitig,  who  brought  all  other  beings  into  existence,  and  that  he 
is  to  be  worshipped;  but  when  men  have  been  left  to  bare  rea- 
son, without  supernatural  aids,  they  have  had  very  obscure 
notions  of  this  one  supreme  God,  and  have  run  into  things  really 
inconsistent  with  the  belief  of  the  one  Supreme,  though  at  the 
same  time  they  were  forced  to  own  there  was  such  an  one. 

It  is  certain,  from  the  light  of  nature,  that  there  is  a  God,  pos- 
sessed of  infinite  perfections.  The  works  of  creation  proclaim 
their  great  original.  If  we  look  to  the  sun,  that  fountain  of 
light  and  heat,  we  must  own  that  it  was  One  of  infinite  power, 
who  prepared  a  tabernacle  for  it,  that  its  influence  might  be 
conveyed  to  the  heavenly  bodies  which  move  round  it;  if  we 
consider  the  planets,  which  with  regular  motions,  revolve  about 
it,  we  cannot  but  confess  the  wisdom  of  Him  v/ho  made  them, 
who  nicely  adjusted  their  distances,  that  they  might  not  disturb 
one  another  in  their  motions,  and  who  enables  them  to  perform 
their  several  revolutions.  It  was  an  almighty  arm  that  first 
slung  forth  those  great  bodies,  which  have  been  kept  from  fol- 
lowing the  propensity  of  gravity,  to  fall  to  their  centre,  by  the 
projectile  force  impressed  upon  them  by  an  all-powerful  hand. 
If  we  take  a  survey  of  the  earth  on  whicli  we  tread,  we  see  in 
it  such  footsteps  of  skill,  power  and  contrivance,  that  we  can- 
not but  say,  the  hand  which  made  it  is  divine;  it  must  be  one 
of  skill  who  has  enriched  it  with  the  beautiful  and  useful  variety 
of  land  and  sea,  plains  and  rivers,  hills  and  vales,  trees  and 
flowers,  corn  and  fruit,  shady  groves  and  crystal  springs,  painted 
meadows  and  purling  streams:  every  part  of  the  inanimate 
creation,  which  raises  pleasure  in  our  imagination,  may  prove 
the  being  of  God  to  us;  whether  it  be  the  beautiful  and  varie- 
gated profusion  of  flowers  that  adorn  the  delightful  gardens, 
the  gay  enamel  that  paints  the  agreeable  meadows,  or  the  curi- 
ous drapery  that  vests  the  shady  groves.  If  we  consider  the 
tribes  of  brute  creatures,  they  manifest  to  us  the  greatness  of 
their  Maker:  if  we  regard  ourselves,  we  cannot  but  say  we  are 
fearfully  and  wonderfully  made;  therefore  when  we  ruminate 
on  the  exquisite  art,  and  consummate  workmanship,  which  is 
laid  out  in  the  formation  of  our  bodies,  and  on  the  nobler  part 
of  us,  that  thinking,  intelligent  substance,  that  distinguishes  us 
from  brutes,  we  cannot  but  conclude  that  we  have  a  Creator  of 
infinite  power. 

When  we  think  on  the  works  of  nature,  with  any  exactness, 
we  cannot  but  conclude  that  there  is  a  supreme  Potentate,  who 
made  and  upholds  the  heavens,  Acts  xiv.  15 — 17,  and  xvii. 
25 — 28,  the  earth,  the  seas,  and  all  things  therein,  who  gives  to 
all  life  and  breath,  in  whom  we  live,  move,  and  have  our  being, 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  49 

and  who  has  not  left  himself  without  witness  to  the  consciences 
of  any,  seeing,  by  his  bounty,  he  sustains  the  sons  of  men,  and 
fills  their  hearts  with  food  and  gladness.  This  has  been  the 
belief  of  all  refined  nations;  and  it  has  not  been  proved,*  that 
any  people  have  been  yet  discovered,  who  arc  so  over-run  with 
ignorance  and  barbarism,  as  to  have  no  notion  of  a  power  above 
them.  David  has,  indeed,  told  us,  Psalm  xiv.  1,  that,  "The 
fool  has  said  in  his  heart  there  is  no  God;"  but  this  may  be 
understood  of  his  secret  wishing  that  there  was  no  God,  and 
being  ready  sometimes  to  flatter  himself  with  the  hopes  that 
things  are  as  he  wishes:  or  rather,  this  fool  of  nature  may  be 
reckoned  a  person  who  has  denied  his  reason  so  far,  as  to  bring 
himself  to  believe,  that  he  was  not  made  by  God  for  himself, 
and  that  he  has  no  motive,  on  his  own  account,  to  give  him 
laws,  and  to  punish  the  breach  of  them,  and  that  consequently 
he  is  not  accountable  to  him. 

We  have  a  very  pregnant  and  melancholy  proof  of  the  im- 
perfection of  the  light  of  nature,  since  the  fall,  in  the  unworthy 
representations  some  of  the  heathen  world  gave  of  God,  and  the 
hideous  and  blemishing  fictions  they  invented  concerning  him. 
Though  they  knew  him  in  part  from  his  works,  they  glorified 
him  not  as  God,  but  grew  vain  in  their  imaginations,  and  intro- 
duced a  rabble  of  inferior  deities,  whom  they  represented  as  not 
free  from  vicious  passions,  and  they  acted  so  much  beneath  the 
dignity  of  human  nature,  as  to  bow  down  before  stones  and 
logs.  They  worshipped  the  creature,  besides  the  Creator,  that 
is,  with  subordinate  worship,  and  so  invented  the  irrational 
scheme  of  subordinate  gods,  and  inferior  worship,  which  has 
been  so  much  applauded  for  refined  reason,  by  many  of  their 
foolish  disciples,  who  call  themselves  Christians.  The  picture 
of  the  ancient  heathens  is  most  admirably  drawn  by  the  apostle 
Paul,  that  great  demolisher  of  paganism,  in  the  following  words, 
Rom.  i.  19 — 23.  25;  "What  may  be  known  of  God  is  manifest 
in  them,  for  God  has  showed  it  them;  for  the  invisible  things 
of  him,  from  the  creation  of  the  world,  are  clearly  seen,  being 
understood  by  the  things  which  are  made,  even  his  eternal 
power  and  Godhead,  so  that  they  are  without  excuse,  because 
when  they  knew  God,  they  glorified  him  not  as  God,  neither 
were  they  thankful,  but  became  vain  in  their  imaginations,  and 
their  foolish  heart  was  darkened;  professing  themselves  to  be 
wise,  they  became  fools,  and  changed  the  glory  of  the  incor- 
ruptible God  into  an  image  made  like  to  corruptible  man,  and 

*  The  Atlieists  have  boasted  of  tlicir  having'  found  out  a  people  who  have  no 
notion  of  a  superior  power,  the  Hottentots  about  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  We 
need  not  much  grudge  them  the  honour  of  having  their  opinions  patronized  by 
those  who  are,  as  far  as  we  know,  the  most  beastly  and  lazy  of  the  human  race; 
but,  however,  they  are  not  so  far  brutified,  as  to  have  no  belief  of  any  tiling  above 
them :  as  any  one  may  find,  who  consults  M.  Kolben's  account  of  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope. 

7 


60  OF   THE    INSUFFICIENCY  OF 

(o  birds,  and  four-footed  beasts,  and  creeping  things.  They 
changed  the  truth  of  God  into  a  he,  and  worshipped  and  served 
the  creature  besides  the  Creator,  who  is  God  blessed  for  ever." 
What  can  show  more  the  insufiiciency  of  the  hght  of  nature,  to 
be  a  rule  to  men  in  matters  of  religion,  than  this,  that  such  as 
were  convinced  from  the  works  of  God  that  there  was  a  supreme 
God,  of  eternal  power,  should  venture  to  worship  with  him,  and 
besides  him,  idols,  and  that  not  only  images  of  men,  the  noblest 
creatures  of  the  lower  world,  but  besides  these,  logs  of  wood, 
and  blocks  of  marble  cut  into  the  shapes  of  the  most  contempti- 
ble creatures,  such  as  serpents,  nay,  of  monsters,  such  as  are 
only  the  creatures  of  fancy,  and  have  no  existence  in  nature. 
And  this  was  done  not  only  by  the  rude  vulgar,  but  by  the 
politest  men  among  the  pagans. 

It  must  be  owned,  that  some  of  the  pagans  have  spoken  admi- 
rably well  concerning  the  supreme  God,*  and  have  described 
him  in  a  worthier  manner,  than  many  who  might  have  used 
the  advantage  of  a  better  light,  who  suppose  that  we  are  to 
have  no  further  notion  of  God,  than  of  one  invested  with 
dominion.  This  shows,  that  though  the  light  of  nature,  by  which 
men  have  a  notion  of  God  is  much  eclipsed,  by  the  darkness 
introduced  by  the  fall,  yet  it  is  not  quite  extinguished.  But 
though  the  pagans  have  said  a  great  many  good  things  about 
the  Supreme,  yet  they  never  had  any  notion  how  affronting  it 
was  to  the  universal  and  sole  Potentate,  to  have  any  part  of  his 
glory  given  to  others.  We  have  many  noble  passages  remain- 
ing, both  of  the  poets  and  philosophers,  which  show  that  the 
knowledge  of  a  God  of  infinite  perfections,  was  not  quite  oblite- 
rated, which  it  would  be  endless  to  produce;  but  we  do  not  find 
that  this  rational  light,  which,  on  some  accounts,  shined  in  them 
with  great  clearness,  was  sufficient  to  keep  them  from  running 
into  most  gross  absurdities.  We  may  be  contented,  on  this 
head,  and  on  others,  to  take  a  view  of  the  sentiments  of  Soc- 
rates, who  has  been  styled  a  martyr  for  the  unity  of  God; 
and  has  been,  by  a  late  writer,t  whose  pretended  religion  was 

*  I  might  liave  given  here  testimonies  from  the  ancients,  especially  from  the 
poets,  wlierein  they  have  spoken  exceedingly  well  of  the  supreme  God;  but  I  have 
formerly  collected  many  of  the  most  remarkable  passages,  and  thrown  them  into 
the  margin  of  my  Treatise  of  Faitii,  p.  12 — 17,  thither  therefore  I  shall  beg  leave 
to  refer  the  reader. 

+  The  late  Dr.  Samuel  Clarke,  whose  mean  low  words  are  these  following : 
"  There  have  been  in  almost  every  age,  in  the  heathen  world,  some  wise,  and 
brave,  and  good  men,  wlio  have  made  it  their  business  to  study  and  practise  the 
duties  of  natural  religion  themselves,  and  to  teach  and  exiiort  others  to  do  the 
like.  An  eminent  instance  wliereof,  in  the  eastern  nations,  the  Scripture  affords 
us  in  the  history  of  Job. — Among  the  Greeks,  Socrates  seems  to  be  an  extraor- 
dinary  example  of  this  kind." — Evidences  of  Natural  and  Revealed  Religion, 
Prop.  VI.  It  will  appear  that  there  was  no  room  for  this  betrayer  of  revelation 
to  depress  Job  so  far,  as  to  make  him  an  instance  of  the  same  kind  with  Socrates, 
if  we  consider  that  the  heathen  philosopher  died  as  a  fool  dieth,  using  this  mean 
expression;   'Crito,  weare  indebted  a  cock  to  aEsculapius;  offer  it,  and  do  not 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  51 

only  the  Bible,  very  profanely  set  in  the  same  rank  with  Job. 
This  man,  it  must  be  owned,  was  a  judicious  observer  of  men's 
actions  ;  and,  as  he  studied  human  nature  exactly,  so  he  did  not 
set  himself  to  frame  schemes  in  private,  which  was  the  ruin  of 
most  of  the  other  old  philosophers :  in  this  he  took  as  good  a 
method,  as  could  be  expected  from  one  in  his  circumstances,  and 
did  not  run  into  such  great  absurdities,  as  most  other  heathens. 
In  a  conversation  with  an  atheist,  he  argued  for  the  being  of  a 
God,  from  the  wisdom  and  skill  which  are  to  be  seen  in  the 
works  of  nature,  especially  in  the  formation  of  man's  body;  and, 
when  he  came  to  a  closer  reasoning  with  him,  he  used  this  warm 
manner:  "Have  you  any  degree  of  knowledge?  Do  you  think 
there  is  no  superior  knowledge  elsewhere?  Can  you  think  that 
the  great  and  innumerable  wonders  of  your  frame  were  put  into 
such  a  beautiful  order,  merely  by  blind  chance?"  When  the  infi- 
del objected  that  he  could  not  see  the  author  of  nature,  the  phi- 
losopher answered,  that  the  objector  could  not  see  his  own  soul, 
which  animated  and  governed  his  body;  so  that  he  might  as 
well  say  that  it  was  merely  by  chance,  and  not  by  design,  that 
he  performed  all  rational,  as  well  as  animal  functions.  This  dis- 
puter  was  not  able  to  maintain  that  there  was  no  God,  but  only 
would  have  insinuated  that  God  had  not  made  man  for  himself, 
or  designed  him  to  be  accountable  to  him ;  he  did  not  despise  a 
God,  but  he  thought  he  was  too  glorious  a  being  to  need  his 
worship :  he  had  a  good  answer  to  this,  that  the  greater  and 
more  glorious  the  Being  was  which  deigned  to  take  care  of  him, 
the  more  he  ought  to  honour  him.  When  he  replied,  that  he 
did  not  think  that  God  took  care  of  human  affairs,  he  was  well 
confuted  by  what  might  be  seen  of  God's  care,  concerning  man, 
in  ordering  the  members  of  his  body  in  such  a  manner,  as 
showed  him  to  be  more  the  favourite  of  providence  than  any 
of  the  brute  creatures,  in  giving  him  an  upright  posture,  and  the 
use  of  speech ;  and,  above  this,  by  what  might  be  observed  of 
the  divine  kindness,  in  giving  man  a  rational  soul,  of  a  noble 
nature,  capable  of  discerning  the  works  of  providence,  and  the 
divine  proceedings,  as  to  worldly  matters,  and  fitted  to  conduct 
the  body,  as  to  the  common  affairs  of  life  ;  that  man  may  guard 
against  hunger,  thirst,  heat,  cold,  and  sickness,  that  he  may  ac- 
quire knowledge,  and  keep  in  memory  what  he  has  attained. 
When  it  was  objected,  that  it  was  not  likely  that  God  should 
see  and  know  all  things,  it  was  well  replied  in  these  words; 
"Your  soul,  whilst  in  the  body,  governs  it  at  its  will,  therefore 
it  may  be  concluded  that  the  wisdom  which  resides  in  the  uni- 
verse, governs  all  things  at  pleasure ;  your  eye  can  take  in  the 

forget."  Whereas  the  Scripture  hero  had  the  light  to  make  the  following  noble 
declaration ;  "  If  I  had  beheld  the  sun  when  it  shined,  and  the  moon  walking  in 
brightness,  and  my  heart  had  been  secretly  enticed,  or  my  moutli  had  kissed  my 
hand,  this  had  been  an  iniquity  to  have  been  punished  by  the  magistrate,  for  I 
should  have  denied  the  God  that  is  above."  Job  xxxi.  26 — 28, 


52  OF    THE    INSUFFICIENCY    OF 

compass  of  some  furlongs,  and  cannot  the  eye  of  God  view  all 
things  at  once  ?  Your  mind  can  think  of  the  state  of  affairs  in 
different  parts  of  the  world,  and  cannot  the  wisdom  of  God  take 
care  of  all  things?  If  you  will  wait  for  divine  direction  to  guide 
you  into  things  which  carry  an  obscure  face,  you  will  know  that 
the  Deity  is  so  great  as  to  be  able  to  see  and  hear  all  things,  to 
be  present  every  where,  and  to  take  the  care  of  all  things." 
Reason  dictated  to  this  man  more  than  it  does  to  some  of  our 
modern  pleaders  for  its  perfection,  yet  in  him  it  was  wofuUy  de- 
ficient; for  he  joined  in  the  worship  of  false  gods,  and  pleaded 
for  omens,  divinations  by  sacrifices,  and  birds;  and,  when  he 
came  to  die,  for  his  having  a  little  better  notion  of  the  divine 
Being  than  his  contemporaries,  he  dishonourably  finished  his 
course,  with  desiring  his  friends  to  fulfil  a  vow  for  him,  which 
was  to  offer  a  cock  to  the  feigned  power  of  health. 

Some  of  the  wiser  pagans  owned,  that  God  was  the  Creator 
of  all  things;  and  whencesoever  they  had  their  light,  whether  by 
tradition,  or  conversation  in  the  east,  some  of  them  allowed 
that  the  world  was  formed  out  of  a  confused  chaos,  but  they 
were  frank  to  confess,  that  they  knew  not  which  of  the  gods  it 
was,  that  condescended  to  take  the  trouble  to  raise  the  beautiful 
fabric  of  the  world,  out  of  a  rude  indigested  heap,  and  to  bring 
order  out  of  confusion.  This  was  only  the  notion  of  some;  for 
otliers  held,  with  a  noted  modern,  that  the  world  was  God ; 
others,  with  one  of  our  country,  imagined  that  all  things  were 
by  fatal  necessity,  and  that,  by  the  nature  of  things,  every  thing 
is  which  is ;  others  fancied,  that  the  world  was  co-eternal  with 
God,  a  necessary  emanation  from  him,  or  that  matter  was  from 
eternity ;  others  framed  a  notion  of  God,  as  a  happy,  lazy,  in- 
dolent Being,  who  was  not  concerned  in  the  creation,  or  gov- 
ernment of  the  world,  but  enjoyed  himself  in  supine  ease  ;  they 
supposed,  that  the  world  was  framed  by  the  casual  hitting  or 
jumbling  of  atoms,  and  that  men  had  nothing  to  do,  but  to  con- 
sult their  own  ease,  to  which  some  added,  how  to  be  inoffensive 
to  others.  It  may  be  easily  guessed,  from  this  short  sketch, 
that  none  of  the  absurd  opinions,  which  the  later  times  have 
been  pestered  with,  are  the  growth  of  the  more  recent  ages,  but 
that  they  have  been  advanced  and  baffled  long  before  this;  and 
we  need  not  question,  but  they  may  be  often  introduced  afresh, 
and  as  often  hissed  off  the  stage,  before  the  end  of  the  world. 
It  might  be  a  help  to  some  giddy  persons  to  know,  that  there  is 
nothing  in  error  which  is  really  new;  if  they  could  be  brought 
to  believe  this,  they  would  not  receive  every  absurdity  that  car- 
ries a  new  face. 

The  providence  of  God  was  acknowledged  by  many,  nay,  by 
most  of  the  heathen,  but  they  knew  little  of  God's  designs  in 
afflicting  a  virtuous  man,  and  suffering  a  vicious  person  to  pros- 
per ;  therefore  some,  being  puzzled  how  to  account  for  these 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  53 

things,  framed  a  notion  of  two  contrary  principles,*  one  good, 
and  another  evil;  to  the  latter  they  ascribed  the  troubles  of  the 
virtuous.  These  two  principles  were  supposed  to  act  in  continual 
opposition  one  to  another,  and  so  to  occasion  all  the  confusion 
which  is  in  the  world.  This  irrational  notion  is  inconsistent 
with  the  owning  one  infinitely  supreme  Being,  yet  it  met  with 
a  reception  among  some  who  were  much  civilized ;  and  the  re- 
mains of  it  are  to  be  found  among  some  ruder  nations  at  this 
day. 

If  matters  were  always  thus,  it  is  a  monstrous  insult  on  com- 
mon sense  for  our  modern  betrayers  of  the  Christian  cause,t 
into  the  hands  of  infidels,  to  tell  us,  that  by  the  religion  of  na- 
ture men  know  what  God  is,  and  how  he  is  to  be  worshipped. 
That  God  is  to  be  worshipped,  is  the  dictate  of  reason,  and  it  has 
so  striking  a  force  upon  the  generality  of  men,  that  they  will  in- 
vent the  most  monstrous  forms  of  worship,  rather  than  not 
worship  at  all.  A  blockish  idolater  will  have  a  log  to  crouch 
to,  rather  than  be  without  a  God ;  and  some  have  been  read);* 
to  sacrifice  their  fellow  creatiu-es,  nay,  their  children,  to  avoid 
being  reckoned  despisers  of  their  false  deities.  They  must  be 
stupid  to  an  amazing  degree,  and  must  only  scribble  for  idiots, 
who  can  imagine,  that  any  will  believe  them,  who  have  exa- 
mined the  world,  when  they  say,  natural  religion  teaches  them 
how  to  worship  God.  If  we  look  into  all  the  pagan  nations, 
we  shall  find,  that  conviction  of  the  necessity  of  worshipping 
what  they  reckoned  to  be  divine,  and  an  entire  ignorance  how 
God  is  to  be  worshipped,  was  the  cause  of  all  those  absurd, 
ridiculous,  cruel,  and  sanguinary  ways  of  worship  which  they 
fell  into,  and  so  showed  that  they  were  without  excuse,  in  that 
when  they  knew  God,  from  his  works,  they  glorified  him  not 
as  God. 

11.  If  men  consult  their  own  hearts,  they  must  needs  find  in 
themselves  too  strong  a  bias  towards  what  is  evil,  and  so  must 
conclude  from  experience,  that  man  is  in  a  state  of  corrup- 
tion; seeing  it  cannot  be  thought,  that  he  came  at  first  out  of 
his  Maker's  hands,  with  principles  of  rebellion  infused  into 
him,  by  the  power  that  bestowed  on  him  his  being.  Though, 
by  the  light  of  nature,  men  have  been  convinced  of  their  cor- 
ruption, yet  such  as  were  left  to  it  alone,  had  only  confused 
notions  about  it,  and  so  knew  not  how  to  reconcile  the  purity 
of  God  to  the  corruption  of  man.  The  pagans,  no  doubt,  had 
some  traditionary  hints  about  the  apostasy  of  the  angels,  and 
the  primitive  pure  state  of  man,  which  gave  birth  to  the  fables 
of  the  giants'  war  against  heaven,  and  the  golden  age ;  but 

*  This  notion  was  adopted  by  no  less  a  person  than  Zerdusht,  or  Zoroaster,  who, 
by  the  help  of  the  prophetical  writings,  reformed,  in  some  degree,  the  ancient  Per- 
sian religion. — Vide  Hyde  de  Relig.  Vet.  Pers.  c.  9. 

t  See  the  defence  of  the  Answer  to  Dr.  Waterland's  Remarks  on  Clark's  Expo- 
sition of  the  Catechism,  said  to  be  written  by  Sykes,  p.  96. 


M 


OF   THE   INSUFFICIENCY   OF 


their  notions  were  so  confused,  that  every  one  reckoned  him- 
self at  Hberty  to  clothe  them  with  what  dress  he  pleased.  Their 
fancy,  that  the  golden  age  was  ended,  by  the  God  that  then 
ruled,  as  supreme,  being  driven  from  the  reins  of  empire,  by  his 
son,  shows  how  poor  a  light  that  of  nature  alone  is.  That  we 
may  not  seem  to  charge  those  things  as  a  defect  in  natural  reU- 
gion,  which  may  be  called  dreams  of  the  poets,  let  us  examine 
the  sentiments  of  Plato,  the  wisest  and  most  penetrating  philo- 
sopher among  the  heathens,  on  this  head.  He  has  told  us,  that 
in  the  primitive  state,  God  governed  the  whole  world  imme- 
diately himself,  and  not  as  it  is  now,  by  inferior  deities ;  that 
demons,  or  inferior  spirits,  as  shepherds,  had  the  care  of  the 
living  creatures,  which  they  ranged  in  due  order ;  that  there 
was  then  no  ravaging  or  violence,  war  or  commotion  in  the 
earth ;  that  God  was  the  common  guardian  of  men,  and  took 
care  of  their  sustenance;  that  there  was  no  need  of  civil  society 
in  those  happy  days;  that  men  sprung  out  of  the  earth  as 
trees;  that  the  fields  yielded  fruit  without  tillage  ;  and  that  the 
air  was  so  temperate,  that  there  was  no  need  of  clothes.  He 
has  then  acquainted  us,  that,  after  a  time,  the  supreme  God 
laid  aside  the  reins  of  his  empire,  and  retired,  and  with  him  all 
the  inferior  deities,  who  governed  under  him ;  that  upon  this 
the  world  was  convulsed,  and  lost  its  beauty,  and  right  and 
wrong  were  confounded ;  that  these  things  will  grow  worse, 
till  he  who  first  governed  the  world,  shall  reduce  it  to  a  better 
state.  This  low  and  contemptible  stuff  is  the  utmost  we  can 
get,  from  such  as  were  left  to  the  light  of  nature,  who  yet  had 
the  help  of  eastern  tradition.  The  same  writer,  in  order  to  give 
an  account  of  the  origin  of  moral  evil,  has  told  us,  that  some  of 
the  inferior  divinities,  who  fly  after  the  chariot  of  the  Supreme, 
taking  up  with  sensual  enjoyments,  instead  of  contemplating 
truth,  lose  their  wings,  grow  sluggish,  and  fall  down  to  earth, 
in  order  to  animate  some  human  body;  those  who  are  least 
depraved,  animate  the  bodies  of  philosophers,  and  those  most 
depraved,  the  bodies  of  tyrants  and  oppressors;  that  after  ten 
thousand  years,  the  worst  souls  are  restored,  and  recover  their 
wings.  Any  one  may  perceive  how  unworthy  these  poor  and 
mean  fictions  are  of  reason,  when  the  least  improved  by  the 
help  of  Scripture :  yet  these  dreams,  shocking  as  they  are,  were 
the  amusement  of  men  of  the  clearest  heads  in  the  pagan  world. 
They  show,  however,  that  they  were  convinced  that  the  present 
state  of  man  was  a  state  of  corruption,  and  that  it  was  not  so 
with  him  in  his  first  state,  from  which  he  fell,  but  they  knew 
not  how.  It  is  from  Scripture  alone  that  we  gain  the  know- 
ledge that  God  made  man  upright,  and  entered  into  a  covenant 
with  him,  to  preserve  him  in  happiness,  in  case  of  constant  and 
perpetual  obedience ;  but  he,  being  left  to  the  freedom  of  his 
own  will,  and  desiring  to  be  equal  to,  and  independent  of  his 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  55 

kind  and  bountiful  Creator,  broke  the  law  of  his  God,  and,  with 
the  loss  of  all  that  was  good,  gained  the  experience  of  all  evil, 
exposed  himself  to  death,  and  procured  to  hinriself  the  desert  of 
everlasting  misery.  If  men  are  left  without  this  knowledge, 
they  are  puzzled  and  confounded,  when  they  compare  them- 
selves with  God:  if  they  believe  that  God  is  pure  and  holy,  they 
may  be  apt  to  question,  whether  such  impure  beings,  as  they 
are,  have  their  being  immediately  from  God;  if  they  are  satis- 
fied that  they  came  from  God,  and  yet  see  in  themselves  so 
much  ill,  they  may  be  ready  to  suppose,  with  the  gross  of  the 
ancient  heathen,  that  the  nature  of  God  is  not  pure ;  in  short, 
the  more  they  inquire,  the  more  ttiey  will  be  lost  and  bewildered 
in  the  fruitless  search. 

III.  If  men  are  once  convinced  that  they  are  in  a  state  of 
corruption,  and  obnoxious  to  the  anger  of  God,  the  light  of 
nature  might  make  them  sensible,  that  they  ought  to  use  all 
means  and  methods  to  be  restored  to  his  favour.  Accordingly 
all  who  had  no  other  religion  than  that  of  nature,  showed  that 
they  would  have  rejoiced  in  any  w^ay,  that  might  have  been 
sufficient  to  reconcile  them  to  the  supreme  Being,  whose  anger 
they  feared,  and  whose  favour  they  desired.  Could  men  think 
that  their  worldly  substance,  or  their  giving  up  what  is  dearest 
to  them,  would  restore  them  to  happiness,  we  may  imagine 
them  ready  enough  to  sacrifice  all :  accordingly,  in  all  nations, 
we  find  persons  who  have  not  stuck  at  endeavouring  to  appease 
God,  by  thousands  of  oxen,  and  ten  thousands  of  rams ;  they 
have,  as  it  were,  poured  forth  oil  and  Avine  in  rivers,  that,  if 
possible,  their  transgressions  might  be  carried  away.  A  desire 
of  appeasing  God  gave  rise  to  some  most  detestable  supersti- 
tions ;  in  order  to  avert  his  anger,  they  stuck  not  to  offer  their 
enemies  as  sacrifices;  nay,  many  have  yielded  themselves  up 
to  the  stroke  of  death,  that  they  might  give  their  flesh  for  their 
transgression.  They  could  willingly  give  a  firstborn,  an  only 
child,  all  the  fruit  of  their  bodies,  for  the  sin  of  their  souls;  and 
they  could,  without  sorrow,  see  their  infants  burnt  alive,  in 
hopes  of  appeasing  an  angry  superior  power.  This  shows  how 
imperfect  reason  is  in  men,  that  they  should  think  such  things 
might  render  them  pleasing  to  God,  as  should  make  them  hate- 
ful to  all  who  have  any  bowels  of  compassion. 

It  has  been  surmised  by  some,  that  the  pagans  had  an  obscure 
notion  of  God's  appearing  in  the  world  to  restore  it,  because 
several  nations  have  represented  their  supreme  God  as  having 
a  son,  who,  under  various  names,  is  represented  as  a  deliverer 
of  men.  This  might  take  its  rise  from  some  remains  of  tradi- 
tion ;  but  it  does  not  seem  that  much  can  be  made  of  this,  for 
the  gods  and  heroes,  the  sons  of  the  Supreme,  who  were  called 
deliverers,  were  represented  to  have  done  their  work  in  past 
ages,  which  was  only  to  kill  monsters,  and  to  dethrone  tyrants. 


56  OF   THE   INSUFFICIENCY   OF 

Here  are  no  evident  traces  of  the  way  of  salvation  by  the  Son 
of  God.  As  this  is  the  glory  of  the  Scripture  scheme,  so  it  is 
revelation  alone  that  could  inform  us  of  it.  It  is,  therefore, 
extremely  surprising  that  any,*  who  profess  themselves  Chris- 
tians, can  venture  to  say  that  natural  religion  will  show  how' 
men,  being  placed  in  the  circumstances  they  are,  full  of  passion, 
full  of  infirmities,  and  surrounded  with  variety  of  temptations 
of  all  sorts,  may  be  reconciled  to,  and  accepted  by  God.  This 
is  odd  language  to  come  out  of  the  mouths  of  any  who  call 
themselves  Christians.  Were  the  case  so,  it  might  well  be  said, 
any  divine  revelation  would  be  needless;  but,  alas!  it  is  only 
insulting  common  sense  to  tell  us  so.  It  is  only  revelation  can 
make  known  to  us  the  way  of  our  recovery  from  ruin ;  without 
this,  endless  doubts  would  infest  our  minds,  and  terrors  would 
fill  our  thoughts.  We  may  a  little  amuse  ourselves  with  the 
notion  of  God's  being  a  God  of  infinite  mercy  and  benevolence ; 
or,  as  some  take  the  insolent  freedom  to  speak  of  their  Maker, 
that  he  is  a  good-natured  being :  but  this  will  yield  little  comfort 
to  a  guilty  mind;  for  as  his  justice  is  provoked,  right  reason, 
if  we  attend  to  it,  will  convince  us  that  must  be  satisfied,  in  a 
way  worthy  of  a  God  of  infinite  perfection,  before  goodness  is 
extended  to  us.  The  justice  of  God  is  as  dear  to  him  as  his 
mercy;  and  can  we  think  he  will  injure  it,  or  make  it  clash  with 
his  mercy,  merely  to  save  such  as  have  rendered  themselves 
obnoxious  to  his  displeasure,  and  unworthy  of  his  favour? 
Scripture  has  declared  to  us  that  God  has  effected  the  salvation 
of  men  by  sending  his  Son  in  our  nature,  that,  by  the  obedience 
of  his  life  and  death,  he  might  atone  for  our  sins,  and  procure 
for  us  a  right  and  title  to  the  favour  of  our  Judge.  In  this 
method,  he  has  caused  all  his  perfections  to  act  in  harmony ;  his 
justice  is  satisfied  by  the  death  of  the  Surety  of  men;  his  holi- 
ness is  showed  in  his  hating  sin,  so  as  not  to  remit  it,  without 
punishment ;  his  truth  is  established,  in  that  his  threatening  is 
fulfilled ;  and  at  the  same  time,  his  mercy,  love,  and  goodness, 
appear  in  the  fairest  colours,  in  that  apostate  man  is  restored  to 
greater  happiness  than  was  lost  by  the  fall.  These  were  things 
unknown  to  such  as  enjoyed  no  more  than  the  bare  light  of 
nature,  who  could  be  in  no  other  than  a  desponding  state,  as  to 
pardon  of  sin,  and  the  favour  of  God.  Their  condition  must  be 
unhappy,  because  they  were  convinced  of  their  need  of  pardon, 
but  knew  not  where  to  apply  in  order  to  obtain  it. 

Some  have  thought  that  the  pagans  were  not  entirely  with- 
out a  notion  of  a  Saviour  coming  into  the  world,  to  instruct 
mankind  about  their  duty,  from  a  remarkable  passage  in  one 
of  Plato's  dialogues:  he  has  introduced  Socrates  warning  one 
against  falUng  in  with  the  gross  absurdities  which  some  run  into 
in  their  prayers.  To  which  he  added:  "  It  is  necessary  to  wait 
*  See  the  defence  of  the  Answer  to  Dr.  Waterland,  p.  96. 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  57 

till  some  one  teach  how  to  behave  ourselves  towards  God  and 
towards  men."  On  his  being  thus  asked,  "  When  will  this  time 
come,  and  who  will  be  this  teacher?  It  will  be  very  deUghtful 
to  see  such  a  one,  whoever  he  is."  He  answered  :  "  It  is  he 
that  takes  care  of  you:  but  the  mist  ought  to  be  removed  from 
your  mind,  which  now  overspreads  it,  and  those  means  afforded 
which  are  necessary  for  your  knowing  good  and  evil,  of  which 
you  do  not  now  seem  capable."  To  this  the  reply  was,  "  Let 
him  remove  the  mist  if  he  pleases,  and  do  any  other  thing;  I 
am  prepared  to  neglect  nothing  commanded  by  him,  whoever 
he  is,  provided  I  may  grow  better."  The  rejoinder  was,  "  He 
takes  care  of  you  in  a  wonderful  manner."  This  has  been 
produced  with  great  pomp,  as  if  it  was  a  decisive  proof  that  the 
heathen,  by  bare  natural  light,  found  out  how  good  men  were 
to  be  reconciled  to  God.  It  is  certain  that  the  author  of  this 
passage  travelled  into  the  east,  where,  it  is  very  probable,  he 
picked  up  this  notion,  which  he  refers  to  in  many  other  pas- 
sages of  his  works,  by  saying  positive  determinations  of  some 
matters  must  be  left  till  some  one  come  and  instruct  us.  The 
utmost  that  can  be  made  of  this  is,  the  ignorance  of  mankind 
was  so  great,  that  this  man  was  satisfied  of  the  need  there  was 
for  some  instructer  to  come  into  tlie  world,  to  teach  men  their 
duty;  but  it  does  not  appear  that  he  had  a  distinct  knowledge 
of  the  person  who  was  to  do  it,  or  of  the  method  he  was  to  take, 
in  order  to  accomplish  man's  happiness.  The  information  men 
have  of  the  way  of  salvation  by  the  Son  of  God,  is  not  what  is 
to  be  obtained  from  the  light  of  nature;  we  could  never  have 
known  that  God  would  be  reconciled  to  us,  if  he  had  not  so  told 
us;  much  less  could  we  have  thought  on  the  method  which  one 
of  infinite  wisdom  would  take,  in  order  to  accomplish  so  ardu- 
ous a  work,  and  to  bring  about  so  stupendous  a  design,  if  it  had 
not  been  unfolded  to  us  in  the  Scriptures  of  truth. 

IV.  The  light  of  nature  convinces  men  of  the  necessity  they 
are  under  to  perform  many  social  and  relative  duties:  but  it 
never  afforded  a  distinct  or  consistent  scheme  of  practical  reli- 
gion. 

It  must  be  owned  that  a  great  many  excellent  things  have 
been  said  in  commendation  of  virtue  by  the  pagans :  some  of 
them,  as,  in  particular,  the  Stoics,  professed  themselves  the 
greatest  admirers  of  it,  and  have  aflbrded  us  some  sublime  mo- 
rality, especially  the  later  Stoics,  Seneca,  Epictetus,  Arrian,  and 
the  emperor  Antoninus,  who  lived  after  Christianity  had  over- 
spread the  world;  and  who,  it  is  more  than  probable,  borrowed 
their  best  strokes  from  thence;  yet  these  ascribed  more  than 
was  fit  to  nature,  or  to  the  will  of  man,  when  they  made  virtue 
to  lie  in  his  power;  and  they  attributed  too  much  to  virtue, 
when  they  affirmed  it  to  be  the  sole  good,  and  made  happiness 
to  lie  entirely  in  it.     More  than  this,  they  run  into  the  most 

8 


58  OF   THE    INSUFFICIENCY  OF 

profane  rant;  they  made  a  virtuous  man,  on  some  accounts, 
superior  to  God  himself.  One  of  the  best  heads  among  them, 
Seneca,  has  told  us,  "  That  the  wise  man  looks  upon  and  con- 
temns the  enjoyments  with  which  other  men  please  themselves, 
with  as  calm  a  mind  as  the  supreme  God;  but  regards  himself 
more  than  God  on  this  account;  God  cannot  make  use  of  them, 
but  the  wise  man  will  not."  Nay,  he  has  ventured  to  say: 
"  There  is  one  thing  in  which  the  wise  man  exceeds  God,  be- 
cause God  is  wise  by  the  kindness  of  nature,  and  not  by  his 
own  attainment."  Nothing  can  be  more  extravagant  than  such 
bold  assertions;  they  are,  indeed,  worthy  of  a  sect  who  showed 
that  they  could  go  as  far  in  nonsense  as  in  blasphemy ;  when, 
on  other  occasions,  they  affirmed  that  pain  was  no  evil.  It  is 
a  conceit  unworthy  of  wise  men,  for  any  to  say,  as  the  Stoics 
did  in  effect,  that  a  man  is  as  happy  when  his  joints  are  distort- 
ed by  a  rack,  as  when  he  is  lying  on  a  bed  of  down;  or  that  he 
is  possessed  of  as  much  temporal  blessedness  when  he  is  tor- 
mented by  the  stone  or  gout,  as  when  he  enjoys  bodily  health, 
accompanied  with  ease  of  mind.  This  is  senseless,  unnatural 
stuff,  and  shows  how  poorly  men  judge  of  virtue  and  happiness, 
when  they  are  left  to  the  bare  light  of  nature. 

It  might  have  been  thought,  if  men  would  have  consulted 
their  own  experience,  and  would  have  looked  into  their  own 
hearts,  that  they  might  have  been  satisfied  that  virtue  was  out 
of  their  own  power.  It  must  be  granted  that  some  who  studied 
mankind  with  exactness,  had  a  right  conception  as  to  this,  and 
showed  they  had  a  larger  share  of  natural  light  than  the  modern 
advocates  for  reason.  Socrates,  in  one  of  his  disputations,  had 
showed  that  virtue  came  not  by  nature,  or  by  teaching,  and  was 
asked  how  it  was  then  that  men  became  good :  he  answered, 
in  this  remarkable  manner:  "  I  do  not  think  this  can  easily  be 
made  evident ;  but  I  am  apt  to  conjecture  it  is  a  divine  gift,  and 
that  men  become  good,  as  men  become  prophets;  these  are  not 
so  by  nature,  or  art,  but  by  divine  inspiration.  Good  men 
declare  to  those  who  are  members  of  the  same  civil  society  with 
themselves,  things  which  are  to  be,  by  divine  inspiration,  more 
clearly  than  such  as  deliver  oracles.  It  seems  to  me  that  virtue 
is  neither  taught,  nor  comes  by  nature,  but  is  a  divine  gift  to 
such  as  possess  it."  The  same  conclusion  was  made,  after  a 
long  dispute,  by  Plato,  in  Socrates's  name,  in  the  following 
words:  "Virtue  is  neither  by  nature,  nor  by  teaching;  but  it 
comes  by  divine  distribution,  to  those  who  have  it,  without  the 
help  of  human  search  and  industry."  These  sagacious  observers 
of  human  nature  wei'e  convinced  that  goodness  came  neither 
by  nature  or  by  instruction,  without  a  supernatural  aid,  but 
they  had  only  some  faint  glimmerings  of  light  as  to  this  matter; 
they  had  no  clear  conceptions  about  it,  and  they  only  propose 
it  as  a  matter  of  conjecture,  or,  at  most,  as  a  problem.    There 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  69 

is  hardly  to  be  found  in  the  heathen  writers  any  thing  more 
noble,  and  more  agreeable  to  truth  than  this  notion;  yet  some 
of  those  who  might  have  improved  it,  if  natural  light  had  been 
a  good  guide,  took  care  to  slight  it.  Hence  we  have  this  absurd 
rant  in  Cicero:  "No  one  ever  reckoned  himself  indebted  to  God 
for  virtue,  and  justly;  for  we  are  on  good  grounds  commended 
for  virtue,  and  glory  in  it,  which  could  not  be,  if  it  was  a  gift 
of  God,  and  we  had  it  not  from  ourselves.  Who  ever  gave 
thanks  to  the  gods  on  account  of  his  being  a  good  man?"  It 
must  be  granted  that  it  thwarts  the  pride  of  fallen  men  to 
acknowledge  themselves  indebted  to  God  for  a  power  to  do 
good;  therefore  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  generality  of  them  have 
no  notion  of  this  matter. 

The  temperance,  moderation,  and  contempt  of  riches,  of  some 
heathens,  are  things  for  which  they  have  been  immoderately 
cried  up  by  those  who  would  call  themselves  Christians.  It 
must  be  owned,  many  of  the  pagans  showed  a  less  selfish  spirit, 
than  some  modern  dignified  infidels,  who,  like  hungry  wolves, 
greedily  gape  after  the  fattest  benefices  in  a  Christian  church, 
the  doctrine  of  which  they  deride.  Not  to  take  from  any  their 
due  praise,  it  must  yet  be  confessed,  that  such  as  were  most 
eminent  in  some  of  the  before-mentioned  virtues,  gave  way  to 
great  vices.  Thus  as  to  Socrates  and  Plato ;  what  the  apostle 
Paul  has  said  of  the  heathens  in  general,  held  true  of  them, 
Rom.  i.  24,  25,  "  that  God  gave  such  up  to  uncleanness,  through 
the  lusts  of  their  hearts,  to  dishonour  their  own  bodies  between 
themselves,  who  changed  the  truth  of  God  into  a  lie,  and  wor- 
shipped and  served  the  creature  more  than  the  Creator,  who  is 
God  blessed  for  ever."  There  have  apologies  been  made  for 
the  persons  mentioned,  that  they  were  not  guilty  of  unnatural 
wickedness,  but  had  a  sort  of  sublime  exalted  affection  for  a 
beautiful  body,  which  was  the  seat  of  a  refined  mind:  but  any 
one  who  has  observed  in  what  an  odious  luscious  way  they 
always  spoke,  when  they  were  upon  this  head,  must  have  less 
sense  than  charity,  if  he  can  bring  himself  to  believe  that  no- 
thing of  worse  than  brutish  lust  was  involved  in  what  they  talk- 
ed of,  in  a  rapturous  manner,  under  the  name  of  love.  Plato, 
besides,  in  his  imaginary  commonwealth,  allowed  the  commu- 
nity of  wives,  though  he  has  expressed  himself  so  ambiguously, 
that  this  has  been  questioned. 

There  was,  on  occasion,  much  of  a  public  spirit,  and  a  love 
to  their  country  showed  by  many  of  the  pagans;  but  this  was 
allayed  by  an  immoderate  degree  of  pride,  vain-glory,  and  ob- 
stinacy. The  most  admired  patriots  made  themselves  their  end, 
in  all  which  they  did  for  their  country's  service;  and  their  whole 
aim  was  to  have  the  empty  applause  of  being  heroes  after  their 
death.  Their  sullenness  of  spirit  appeared,  in  their  so  often 
murdering  themselves;  and  the  imperfection  of  their  natural 


60  OF    THE    INSUFFICIENCY   OF 

light  was  showed  in  their  committing  the  greatest  of  all  sins, 
under  the  notion  of  practising  exalted  virtue.  It  is  surprising, 
that  so  many  fooHsh  encomiums  have  been  made,  by  such  as 
should  know  better,  on  some  heathens,  for  things  which  sliould 
render  them  the  scorn  of  all  wise  men.  Thus,  for  instance,  how 
many  times  has  Cato  been  set  forth,  as  an  instance  of  greatness 
of  soul,  in  that  he  would  not  out-live  the  liberty  of  his  country; 
when  the  truth  is,  he  had  too  little  a  soul,  and  too  envious  a 
temper,  to  see  Caesar,  a  person  against  whom  he  had  a  rooted 
prejudice,  Iiave  it  in  his  power,  as  he  had  it  in  his  nature,  to 
forgive  what  he  had  done  against  him.  Thus  likewise  Brutus 
has  been  cried  up,  as  an  instance  of  exalted  virtue,  only  because 
he,  like  a  vile  assassin,  murdered  the  man  with  whom  he  culti- 
vated a  seeming  friendship,  and  who  had  loaded  him  with 
favours,  and  afterwards,  meanly  and  ignominiously  stabbed 
himself  with  the  same  dagger  with  which  he  murdered  his 
friend,  as  soon  as  he  found  there  was  a  likelihood  that  some 
othei*s  would  make  a  greater  figure  in  the  world  than  himself. 
It  is  easy  to  call  darkness  light;  but  when  the  matter  is  coolly 
weighed,  it  will  be  fomid,  that  some  who  have  been  most  cried 
up,  among  the  heathen,  acted  the  part  of  madmen  and  despera- 
does, rather  than  of  heroes  and  patriots. 

It  is  the  Scripture  only  which  gives  us  a  right  notion  of  true 
morality  and  exalted  virtue.     It  is  from  thence  only  that  we 
are  clearly  and  distinctly  informed,  that  it  is  not  sufficient  for 
us  to  do  what  is  materially  good,  unless  we  act  out  of  a  princi- 
ple of  love  to  that  God  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  all  the 
blessings  we  enjoy,  unless  we  make  his  will  our  rule,  and  un- 
less, in  all  our  civil,  moral,  and  religious  actions,  we  aim  at  the 
advancement  of  his  glory,  "  in  whom  we  live,  move,  and  have 
our  being."     It  is  in  the  lively  oracles  that  we  are  taught,  that 
we  must  not  act  from  a  selfish  spirit,  that  we  must  not  make 
our  will  and  our  humour  the  guide  of  our  actions,  and  that  we 
must  not  make  vain-glory  our  end.    It  is  from  thence  we  learn, 
that  we  must  repent  of  what  we  have  done  amiss,  be  filled 
with  holy  sorrow  for  our  evil  actions,  watch  our  hearts,  as  well 
as  our  lives,  and  keep  a  guard  upon  our  thoughts  as  well  as 
upon  our  actions.     It  is  only  from  the  sacred  volume  that  we 
are  instructed  to  resign  ourselves  to  the  will  of  God,  to  practise 
self-denial,  to  mortify  the  lusts  of  the  mind,  as  well  as  the  lusts 
of  the  flesh,  to  be  patient  under  afflictions,  not  through  stout- 
ness or  suUenness,  but  out  of  expectation  that  all  our  troubles 
will  turn  to  our  good,  and  wfllingly  to  take  up  our  cross,  and 
follow  Christ  our  Master,  through  much  tribulation.     These 
sublime  virtues  are  not  taught  in  nature's  school,  and  were 
never  practised  by  any  who  were  left  to  bare  natural  light.  We 
have  sure  instruction  as  to  these  heads  given  us  in  the  Scripture, 
which  is  the  word  of  the  ever-living  God;  and  by  that  we  are 


NATURAL    RELIGION.  61 

informed,  that  it  is  not  in  our  power,  who  are  fallen  creatures, 
to  render  ourselves  good  and  virtuous,  but  that  we  are  enabled, 
by  God,  to  will  and  to  do  according  to  his  good  pleasure,  and 
are  by  his  grace,  assisted  to  choose  what  is  for  our  profit,  and 
to  do  what  is  well-pleasing  in  his  sight.  It  is  by  supernatural 
light  that  we  are  enabled  to  conclude,  that  we  are  not  our  own, 
being  called  of  God,  and  redeemed  by  Christ ;  that  we  should 
show  forth  the  praises  of  him  who  calls  us  to  honour,  glory,  and 
immortality,  and  of  him  who  rescues  us  from  wrath  and  con- 
demnation, by  his  own  blood ;  that  when  we  have  done  all,  we 
are  unprofitable  servants,  having  done  no  more  than  our  duty,- 
and  that  we  are  indebted  for  the  power  to  do  what  we  really 
perform,  to  the  aids  of  the  blessed  Spirit,  who  makes  us  meet 
to  see  and  enjoy  God,  in  the  happy  realms  of  rest  which  are 
above. 

V.  It  is  agreeable  to  the  light  of  nature  to  allow  the  imtnor- 
tality  of  the  soul,  and  ^.  future  state  of  happiness  and  misery; 
but  such  as  have  had  no  better  light  have  ever  been  uncertain 
as  to  the  after  existence  of  their  spirits,  and  took  up  with  absurd 
notions  about  a  future  world. 

Some  of  the  refined  heathen,  nay,  some  who  might  have 
known  better,  if  they  had  not,  through  a  conceit  of  the  suffi- 
ciency of  their  reason,  scorned  Christianity,  have  owned  that  the 
soul  was  mortal.  Of  this  herd  was  the  demure  Stoic,  the  em- 
peror Marcus  Antoninus,  whose  senseless  jargon  is  as  follows: 
"  If  souls  remain  for  ever,  how  has  the  air  contained  them  from 
eternity?  Souls,  when  they  are  translated  into  the  air,  after 
continuing  there  a  while,  are  changed,  poured  out,  and  united 
with,  and  received  into  the  spermatic  principle  of  things,  and 
so  give  room  for  other  souls."  Some  had  better  apprehensions, 
as  to  the  soul's  noble  nature,  than  this  poor  bigot;  and  as  they 
looked  on  its  immortality  to  be  a  thing  probable,  they  have  said 
some  excellent  things  on  this  subject;  but  yet  if  their  sentiments 
are  nicely  examined,  it  does  not  appear  that  they  had  got  en- 
tirely above  uncertainty,  and  it  will  not  be  found  that  they  were 
willing  to  trust  to  their  own  arguments.  Hence  Socrates  is  made 
by  Plato  to  conclude  his  defence  of  himself  in  this  mean  manner; 
"  Now  it  is  time  for  me  to  go  hence,  to  meet  my  death,  and  for 
you  to  depart,  with  a  prospect  of  enjoying  life:  whichof  us  will 
have  the  advantage,  is  unknown  to  any  one,  except  it  is  to  God." 
Indeed,  some  have  ventured  to  say  that  this  expression  showed 
the  great  humility  of  him  who  uttered  it,  but  not  his  doubt 
about  the  happiness  of  a  good  man  in  a  future  state.  But  surely 
they  imagine  we  must  not  use  our  senses;  for  since  it  is  said, 
none  knows  whether  it  will  be  better  with  such  as  go  out  of 
the  world,  than  with  such  as  stay  behind,  it  cannot  be  otherwise 
than  that  he  who  spoke  this  must  be  ignorant,  which  is  more 
than  being  in  doubt  about  the  matter.     If  the  several  pagan 


/ 

62  OF   THE    INSUFFICIENCY   OF 

writers  who  speak  about  the  soul's  immortaUty,  are  carefully 
considered,  it  will  appear,  that  as  they  use  poor  arguments  to 
prove  the  probabiUty  of  this  point,  so  they  speak  doubtfully 
about  it ;  and  no  wonder,  since  they  were  strangers  to  the  gos- 
pel, by  which  "  life  and  immortaUty  are  brought  to  light." 

The  conscience  of  all  men  is  under  an  impression  that  they 
must  give  an  account  of  themselves  to  God,  and  must  be  either 
happy  or  miserable  in  a  future  state,  according  as  they  are 
absolved  or  condemned  by  him.  Many  of  the  heathen  were 
persuaded  of  the  soul's  immortality  from  thinking  on  its  noble 
nature ;  but  they  did  not  care  to  be  positive,  neither  were  they 
willing  entirely  to  trust  to  their  own  arguments.  As  the  result 
of  this  imperfect  assent  to  the  soul's  immortality,  almost  all 
nations  have  entertained  a  notion  of  a  state  of  happiness  and 
misery  after  death ;  but  the  ideas  the  heathen  took  up  with  of 
it  were  exceedingly  low.  Some  thought  that  the  soul  passed, 
by  way  of  transmigration,  either  into  the  body  of  another  man, 
if  virtuous,  or  to  animate  a  beast,  if  otherwise  ;  than  which  no- 
thing can  be  more  ridiculous.  The  best  account  that  they  gave 
of  a  state  of  misery  was,  that  it  was  confinement  in  a  dark  pri- 
son, where  guilty  men  were  enclosed  with  rocks,  bound  in 
chains,  and  lashed  by  furies,  with  whips  of  serpents ;  and  they 
represented  the  state  of  happiness  as  a  place  where  just  men 
enjoyed  rest,  in  treading  pleasant  fields,  and  reposing  them- 
selves in  fragrant  bovvers;  and  they  made  them  to  wear  away 
their  hours  with  innocent,  though  unprofitable  amusements: 
but  they  had  no  conceptions  of  their  being  happy  in  the  pre- 
sence of  God,  or  enjoying  communion  with  him.  We  may 
from  reason  render  extremely  probable,  if  not  demonstrate,  the 
immortality  of  the  soul ;  but  the  light  of  nature  affords  us  very 
little  help,  as  to  the  knowledge  of  a  future  state.  It  is  the 
Scripture  that  informs  us,  that  "  the  wicked  shall  go  into  ever- 
lasting punishment,"  where  conscience  will  always  torment 
them;  and  that  the  "righteous  shall  go  into  life  eternal,"  where 
they  will  not  be  employed  in  low  and  mean  services,  but  will 
be  for  ever  taken  up  in  the  delightful  work  of  praising  their 
God,  without  any  sin  to  disturb  them,  and  without  any  grief  to 
rack  them.  There  they  will  enjoy  ease  and  rest,  but  will  not 
be  inactive;  there  they  will  have  the  delightful  society  of  angels 
and  archangels ;  and  there  they  will  behold  the  face  of  their 
Redeemer  in  righteousness,  and  will  have  this  assurance  to  add 
to  the  pleasure  of  their  state,  that  their  happiness  will  never 
cease,  and  their  joys  will  never  end. 

APPLICATION. 

When  we  who  enjoy  the  light  of  revelation,  reflect  on  the  im- 
perfect notions,  which  the  most  refined  among  the  pagans  had 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  63 

of  the  most  momentous  points;  such  as  the  unity  of  God,  the 
corruption  of  man,  the  way  to  be  reconciled  to  an  offended  Cre- 
ator, the  nature  of  virtue  and  a  future  state,  things  in  which  all 
mankind  are  equally  concerned,  we  should  reckon  it  a  great  pri- 
vilege that  we  are  not  left  to  the  dim  light  of  nature,  but  have 
a  more  sure  guide  afforded  us  than  bare  reason,  in  religious  mat- 
ters. When  we  look  into  the  writings  of  the  ancient  Greeks 
and  Romans,  we  find  that  they  have  left  us  as  complete  models 
of  history,  as  beautiful  pieces  of  poetry,  and  as  fine  specimens  of 
oratory,  as  any  which  have  been  composed  by  moderns,  who 
yet  enjoy  the  advantage  of  having  them  to  copy  after :  nay,  it 
may  be  said,*  that,  as  to  works  of  genius,  the  writers  of  a  later 
date  have  very  seldom  equalled,  and  never  have  exceeded  the 
ancients,  only  in  things  composed  in  a  sacred  strain,  they  have 
vastly  outdone  them  in  true  sublimity.  The  reason  of  remark- 
ing this  is,  that  none  may  go  away  with  a  conceit,  that  the  an- 
cients had  less  sense  and  reason  than  the  moderns.  In  things 
which  depend  merely  on  intellectual  abilities,  they  showed 
themselves  such  great  masters,  that  it  is  justly  reputed  the  great- 
est perfection,  in  a  piece  written  now,  to  come  any  ways  up  to 
them.  However,  these  great  masters  of  reason,  these  wonderful 
proficients  in  polite  attainments,  ran  into  the  most  childish  ab- 
surdities when  they  meddled  with  the  important  matters  of  re- 
ligion, which  yet  are  of  universal  concern.  As  this  shows  how 
unfit  reason,  as  it  now  is  in  men,  is  to  be  a  guide  in  sacred  mat- 
ters, so  we  should  take  occasion,  from  hence,  to  be  very  thank- 
ful, that  we  enjoy  the  light  of  the  gospel. 

When  a  celestial  herald  was  sent  to  proclaim  to  some  shep- 
herds, near  Bethlehem,  the  birth  of  the  Lord  of  life,  he  called 
the  message  which  he  was  to  deliver,  glad  tidings  of  great  joy, 
when  he  thus  spake  to  them,  Luke  ii.  10,  11  ;  "Fear  not,  1 
bring  you  glad  tidings  of  great  joy,  which  shall  be  to  all  peo- 
ple ;  for  to  you  is  born,  this  day,  in  the  city  of  David,  a  Saviour, 
which  is  Christ  the  Lord."  As  the  harmless  Shepherds  were 
tending  their  fleecy  care  they  were  frightened  at  the  sudden 
sight  of  an  angel  coming  in  a  glorious  majestic  form;  but  the 
messenger  of  peace  took  care  to  inform  them,  that  he  came 
not  as  an  executioner  of  divine  vengeance,  that  therefore  they 

*  I  do  not  know  any  modern  history  that  can  compare  with  those  written  by 
Thucydides,  Dionysius,  Sallust,  and  Livy.  As  to  the  higher  sort  of  poetry,  we 
have  some  pieces  in  the  didactic  kind,  written  by  Fracastorius,  Vida,  AngeHus 
Bargeus,  Palearius,  D.  Heinsius,  which  exceed  much  any  thing  left  of  the  ancients 
except  Virgil's  Georgics.  In  the  epic  kind,  we  have  nothing  comparable  to  Ho- 
mer and  Virgil,  which  is  without  a  mixture  of  the  Christian  religion ;  by  the  help 
of  this,  Vida,  in  his  Christias,  Mr.  Spencer,  and  Mr.  Phineas  Fletcher,  in  tlieir 
allegorical  writings,  and,  above  all,  Mr.  Milton,  in  his  Paradise  Lost,  have  exceeded 
all  the  Pagan  writers  in  true  sublimity.  In  the  more  raised  parts  of  oratory,  De- 
mosthenes and  Cicero  have  never  been  equalled  by  any  moderns,  except  l)y  the 
Christian  preachers,  whose  plainness  has  something  in  it  more  grand  than  all  their 
flourishes. 


64  OF   THE    INSUFFICIENCY   OF 

should  not  be  discouraged,  since  he  was  to  proclaim  in  their 
ears  the  best  news  that  ever  mortals  heard;  which  glad  tidings 
were,  that  a  Saviour  was  actually  born  into  the  world.  These 
tidings  occasioned  great  joy  in  the  inhabitants  of  heaven  ;  Luke 
V.  13,  14,  "  for  suddenly  there  was  with  the  angel  a  multitude 
of  the  heavenly  host  praising  God,  and  saying.  Glory  to  God 
in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  and  good-will  to  men."  The 
gospel  was  called  glad  tidings  of  great  joy,  eminently,  as  it 
made  known  the  actual  birth  of  the  Saviour  of  the  world  to 
the  shepherds;  and,  indeed,  the  divine  revelation,  in  the  gospel, 
of  the  whole  method  of  man's  salvation,  makes  it  a  message 
of  joy  and  peace,  to  all  who  have  a  value  for  their  own  interest. 
It  is  from  the  Scriptures  of  truth  that  we  are  informed  that  the 
divine  Persons  consulted  about  our  welfare,  and  laid  the  plan 
of  our  happiness  before  the  heavens  were  stretched  over  the 
empty  space,  and  the  earth  was  hung  upon  nothing.  God  the 
Father  chose  to  salvation  a  number  of  the  posterity  of  man, 
and  entered  into  a  covenant  with  God  the  Son,  as  the  Head  of 
the  elect,  and  with  all  the  elect  in  him,  as  his  seed.  The  oracles 
of  truth  declare  to  us,  that,  according  to  the  covenant  of  grace, 
the  Son  of  God  appeared  as  the  Saviour  of  man,  who  had 
destroyed  himself,  and,  that  he  might  accomplish  the  great 
work  he  had  undertaken,  assumed  the  human  nature  into  union 
with  his  divine  person,  lived  a  life  of  ignominy  and  disgrace, 
and  died  a  shameful  and  a  painful  death  on  the  cross :  they 
assure  us,  in  the  most  positive  manner,  that  he  who  was  born 
a  child,  who  appeared  as  a  mean  man,  and  who  died  as  a  male- 
factor, was  no  less  than  the  mighty  God,  one  invested  with 
infinite  power;  who  consequently  was  able  to  bear  the  divine 
wrath,  to  offer  up  to  infinite  justice  a  proper  satisfaction,  and  to 
make  way  for  mercy  to  be  glorified,  without  any  other  divine 
perfection  being  injured.  The  gospel  reveals  the  perfect  right- 
eousness of  this  great  Saviour,  as  the  righteousness  which,  being 
imputed  to  the  guilty,  can  justify  them  before  God,  or  give  them 
a  right  to  forgiveness  of  sins,  to  the  favour  of  the  supreme  Po- 
tentate, whom  they  have  provoked,  and  to  everlasting  happi- 
ness. It  is  in  this  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  promised,  to  quicken, 
renew,  and  sanctify  those  for  whom  Christ  died;  to  enable  them 
to  follow  holiness,  or  to  practise  virtue,  out  of  love  to  God,  and 
with  an  aim  to  advance  his  glory ;  to  strengthen  them,  and  sup- 
port them,  that  they  may  grow  in  grace,  and  persevere  in  true 
godliness;  to  comfort  them  by  working  in  them  peace,  joy,  and 
hope;  and  to  bring  them,  at  last,  to  the  land  of  uprightness;  in 
fine,  it  is  the  Scripture  which  declares  to  us,  that  the  departed 
spirits  of  such  as  trust  in  Christ,  are  conveyed  into  the  presence 
of  God,  to  partake  of  the  most  substantial  joys,  and  that  their 
bodies  shall  be  raised  in  glory,  when  Christ,  who  is  their  life, 
and  the  God  of  their  salvation,  shall  appear.     These  glorious 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  65 

things  we,  who  have  the  Scriptures,  know  from  thence;  and 
seeing,  through  the  tender  mercies  of  our  God,  this  gospel  Hght 
has  visited  us,  we  ought  to  abound  in  thankfuhiess,  and  should 
rightly  improve  the  knowledge  with  which  we  are  blessed. 
And  as  we  should  be  sensible  of  our  own  mercies,  so  we  should 
greatly  pity  such  muddy  souls  as  are  enamoured  with  the  dark- 
ness of  paganism,  and  choose  obscurity  rather  than  light,  because 
their  pride  is  great,  their  apprehensions  are  confused,  and  their 
deeds  are  evil. 

When  we  receive  the  Scripture  account  of  the  Father,  the 
Son  and  the  Spirit,  concerning  themselves  in  our  salvation,  we 
may  with  rapture  cry  out,  0  the  depth  of  the  love  of  these 
divine  Persons,  which,  in  the  full  extent  of  it,  passes  know- 
ledge! But  can  we  be  enough  affected  with  a  sense  of  it? 
Alas!  no;  not  as  long  as  we  sojourn  in  these  curtains  of  dis- 
tance. We  cannot  sing  their  praises  in  so  exalted  and  so  rap- 
turous a  strain  as  we  ought;  how  do  hosannahs  languish  on 
our  tongues,  and  how  does  our  devotion  die?  This  will  be  our 
case,  as  long  as  we  have  our  abode  in  a  country  of  separation, 
and  are  strangers  in  a  strange  land.  We  cannot  then  but  be 
wishing  that  the  hour  may  come,  and  the  day  may  hasten, 
when  we  shall  put  off  the  rags  of  our  mortality,  and  be  clothed 
with  the  white  attire  of  innocence,  and  shall  take  up  our  abode 
in  the  amiable  tabernacles  which  are  spread  on  the  mountains 
of  spices.  There,  there,  and  no  where  else,  in  the  company  of 
angels  and  archangels,  and  of  all  who  have  washed  their  robes 
in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  have  trod  the  path  to  glory  be- 
fore us,  we  shall  strike  the  strings  of  the  heavenly  lyres,  with 
skilful  hands,  and  shall  raise  our.  voices  to  a  due  pitch,  to  sound 
forth,  to  all  eternity,  the  high  praises  of  the  Father,  who  chose 
us  to  salvation;  of  the  Son,  who  redeemed  us  from  wrath;  and 
of  the  Spirit,  who  made  us  meet  for,  and  conducted  us  to  the 
peaceful  provinces  of  joy  and  rest. 

To  the  three  divine  Persons,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Spirit,  the  one  living  and  true  God,  whom  we  adore, 
be  supreme  honour  and  glory,  now,  henceforth,  and  for 
evermore.    Amen. 


THE 

DOCTRINE  OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION 

STATED  AND  DEFENDED^ 

\ 

IN   TWO    SERMONS, 

y 

By   MR.   JOHN   SLADEN, 

MINISTER  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 


SERMON  L 

2  Thessalonians  ii.  13. — We  are  bound  to  give  thanks  always  to  God  for  you, 
bretliren,  beloved  of  the  Lord;  because  God  hath,  from  the  beg-inning,  chosen 
you  to  salvation,  through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit,  and  belief  of  the  truth. 

As  pride  was  the  great  sin,  and  proved  the  sad  fall  of  our  first 
parents,  so  it  is  the  prevailing  vice  and  damning  evil  of  their 
posterity.  They,  in  affecting  to  be  as  God,  knowing  good  and 
evil,  ruined  themselves;  and  we,  in  following  their  pernicious 
example,  bring  swift  destruction  upon  ourselves:  "Vain  man 
would  be  wise,  though  he  is  born  as  the  wild  ass's  colt,"  a  poor 
unthinking  ignorant  creature.  We  either  aspire  after  the  know- 
ledge of  what  God  has  not  revealed,  and  pretend  to  dive  into 
the  secrets  of  his  counsel,  or  we  reject  and  quarrel  with  what 
he  has  declared,  because  it  sets  us  low,  and  advances  the  riches 
of  divine  grace  and  wisdom,  and  ascribes  all  glory  to  God,  and 
will  not  allow  us  to  boast  of  any  thing  of  our  own.  From  hence 
it  is,  that  men  speak  evil  of  the  things  they  know  not,  and  swell 
into  an  opposition  to  those  truths  that  they  cannot  fathom,  and 
which  tend  to  lower  their  exalted  pride.  What  was  said  of  the 
man  of  sin,  in  particular,  is  too  justly  applicable  to  all  men  by 
nature;  "  He  opposes  and  exalts  himself  above  all  that  is  called 
God,  or  that  is  worshipped;  so  that  he,  as  God,  sits  in  the  tem- 
ple of  God,  showing  himself  that  he  is  God,"  2  Thess.  ii.  4. 

The  grand  controversy,  between  corrupt  nature  and  the  al- 
mighty God,  is  not  whether  any  or  all  of  the  human  race  shall 
be  saved;  but  who  shall  have  the  glory  of  salvation  ascribed  to 
him,  God  or  the  creature.  The  pride  of  man  prompts  him  to 
say,  the  glory  of  salvation  is  due  to  me,  for  I  save  myself;  but 
the  great  Jehovah  justly  challenges  the  glory  of  salvation  to 
himself,  and  says,  I  will  have  all  the  glory  thereof,  for  it  is  by 
my  sovereign  and  efficacious  grace  that  men  are  saved.  Thus 
pride  is  the  unhappy  parent  of  unbelief,  and  a  principal  cause 
of  the  enmity  there  is  in  the  carnal  mind  against  God;  yea,  this 

66 


OF   PARTICULAR   ELECTION.  67 

is  at  the  bottom  of  all  the  rude  opposition  made  to  those  doc- 
trines of  Scripture,  which  iUustrate  and  advance  the  almighty- 
power  and  free  grace  of  God  in  the  salvation  of  sinners. 

Whence  is  it  that  the  doctrines  of  special  election,  of  effica- 
cious grace  in  regeneration  and  conversion,  of  justification  by 
the  imputed  righteousness  of  Christ,  and  of  the  infallible  perse- 
verance of  the  saints,  though  so  clearly  revealed,  and  strongly 
proved  in  the  word  of  God,  are,  notwithstanding,  so  generally 
denied,  opposed,  and  ridiculed,  but  because  they  give  all  the 
glory  of  salvation  to  God,  and  will  not  allow  man  so  much  as 
to  boast  a  little?  This  I  apprehend  to  be  the  main  reason  of 
the  furious  assaults  that,  in  all  ages,  have  been  made  against 
these  glorious  truths;  "but  let  God  be  true,  and  every  man  a 
liar."  Rom.  iii.  4.  "  To  God  belongeth  mercy,  but  to  us  shame 
and  confusion  of  face."  Dan.  ix,  7 — 9.  "  0  the  depth  of  the 
riches,  both  of  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God !  How  un- 
searchable are  his  judgments,  and  his  ways  past  finding  out! 
Who  has  known  the  mind  of  the  Lord,  or  who  has  been  his 
counsellor?  Or  who  has  first  given  to  him,  and  it  shall  be 
recompensed  to  him  again?  for  of  him,  and  through  him,  and 
to  him,  are  all  things:  to  whom  be  glory  for  ever,  Amen." 
Rom.  xi.  33 — 36. 

The  words  of  our  text  give  us  an  account  of  the  ground  of 
the  difference  between  the  believing  Thessalonians,  and  those 
reprobates  that  the  apostle  is  speaking  of,  in  the  context ; 
"They,"  says  he,  "shall  be  damned,  but  you  shall  be  saved; 
they  believe  not  the  truth,  but  have  pleasure  in  unrighteousness; 
you  have  believed,  and  are  sanctified ;  they  received  not  the 
love  of  the  truth,  that  they  might  be  saved;  you  have  been 
eftectually  called,  through  the  gospel,  to  the  obtaining  of  the 
glory  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  A  wide  and  awful  difference ! 
But  whence  arises  this  discrimination?  What  is  the  cause  and 
reason  of  it  ?  How  comes  it  about  that  these  Thessalonians 
shall  be  saved,  and  the  others  shall  not  be  saved  ?  That  these 
receive  the  truth  in  the  love  of  it,  and  the  others  do  not  thus 
receive  it  ?  The  apostle  tells  us,  that  it  is  the  distinguishing 
grace  of  God  in  election;  they  had  the  gospel  preached  to  them, 
as  well  as  these  Thessalonians,  but  they  refused  it,  and  chose 
darkness  rather  than  this  light ;  these  received  it  with  pleasure, 
and  walked  with  comfort  in  the  light  of  it ;  and  the  reason  is, 
because  God  had,  from  the  beginning,  chosen  them  to  salvation : 
"  We  are  bound  to  give  thanks  always  to  God  for  you,  brethren, 
beloved  of  the  Lord ;  because  God  hath,  from  the  beginning, 
chosen  you  to  salvation,  through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit,  and 
belief  of  the  truth." 

Some,  by  the  word  begijining  here,  understand  the  beginning 
of  the  apostles'  preaching  the  gospel  to  these  Thessalonians,  and 
would  have  the  words  to  be  read  thus:  Because  God  has,  from 


68  OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION. 

the  beginning  (of  our  preaching  to  3^^011,  showed  that  he  had) 
chosen  you  to  salvation,  through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit, 
which  gives  the  earnest  of  it,  and  makes  us  meet  for  it,  and 
beUef  of  the  truth,  which  promises  it.  I  am  glad  to  find  such 
a  paraphrase  as  this  upon  the  text,  given  by  one  who  was  a 
known  opposer  of  our  doctrine;  for  though  his  sense  of  the 
words,  "  From  the  beginning,"  is  certainly  wrong,  as  I  may 
show  hereafter ;  yet  the  expositiou  in  general,  is  so  far  from 
being  repugnant  to  the  doctrine  of  particular  election,  that  it 
abundantly  confirms  it. 

Another  commentator  gives  this  as  his  sense  of  the  text: 
"  We  are  bound  to  give  thanks  to  God  always  for  you,  brethren, 
beloved  of  the  Lord;  because  he  has,  from  the  beginning, 
chosen  you  to  salvation,  through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit,  and 
belief  of  the  truth;"  that  is,  says  he,  "because  he  has  been  so 
favourable  to  you  above  others,  as  to  appoint  the  gospel  to  be 
preached  to  you,  and  you  to  be  called  to  the  faith  of  Christ  so 
early,  and  to  be  taken  out  of  that  wicked  generation  by  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel,  and  that  grace  which  is  annexed  to  it, 
and  by  your  receiving  the  truth."  But  this  interpretation  of 
the  words  is  so  very  low  and  jejune  in  itself,  and  so  contrary 
to  the  plain  meaning  of  the  text,  that  the  common  reader  may 
easily  discern  the  weakness  and  falseness  of  it.  I  shall  there- 
fore give  what  I  apprehend  to  be  a  just  paraphrase  upon  the 
words:  "We  are  bound  to  give  thanks  to  God  for  you,  brethren, 
beloved  of  the  Lord;  because  God  has,  from  the  beginning,  or, 
from  eternity,  chosen  you  to  salvation,  even  eternal  life,  through 
sanctification  of  the  Spirit,  and  belief  of  the  truth,  as  the  neces- 
sary means,  whereby  you  are  to  enjoy  this  salvation." 

In  the  words  we  may  observe  these  several  parts: 

1.  The  affectionate  compellation:  Brethren,  beloved  of  the 
Lord.  Brethren,  a  title  denoting  nearness  of  relation,  and 
carrying  in  it  strong  atfection.  Beloved,  not  only  of  us  apostles, 
but  of  the  Lord.  Blessed  are  they  who  are  beloved  of  the 
Lord;  therefore  persons  are  drawn  to  God  in  time,  because  he 
loved  them  from  everlasting.  Jer.  xxxi.  3.  "  We  love  him, 
because  he  first  loved  us,"  1  John  iv.  19;  he  redeemed  and 
pardons  us,  because  he  loved  us.  Rev.  i.  5. 

2.  We  have  the  apostle's  acknowledgment  of  praise  due  to 
God  on  the  account  of  these  Thessalonians;  We  are  bound,  or 
we  ought,  to  give  thanks  always  to  God  for  you.  We  do  give 
thanks,  and  we  look  upon  ourselves  as  obliged  to  do  so.  We 
give  thanks  to  God  on  your  behalf,  and  that  not  occasionally,  or 
for  a  time  only,  but  incessantly,  always.  This  shows  the  high 
opinion  the  apostle  had  of  the  blessing  bestowed  on  these  per- 
sons, and  was  a  testimony  of  the  great  respect  he  had  for  them. 

3.  We  have  the  ground  and  cause  of  the  apostle's  acknow- 
ledgment of  praise  due  to  God  for  these  Thessalonians;  and 


OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION.  €9 

that  is,  their  election  of  God:  because  God  hath  chosen  you  to 
salvation.  Tliis  is  an  evidence  that  they  were  beloved  of  the 
Lord,  and  this  is  the  foundation  of  praise  to  God  for  them. 

Here  we  may  observe,  the  act,  chosen;  hath  chosen,  or 
elected.  It  is  such  a  choice  as  discriminates  them  from  others, 
and  it  is  a  choice  that  will  secure  the  end.  The  agent,  God; 
God  hath  chosen.  God  who  made  you,  God  whom  you  had 
rejected  and  affronted,  God  who  has  power  and  authority  to 
choose  whom  he  pleases,  he  hath  chosen:  and  the  object  or 
persons  chosen,  you  Thessalonians,  once  unbelieving  and  un- 
holy, but  now  faithful  and  sanctified.  God  has  chosen  you, 
who  might  justly  have  rejected  you;  he  has  chosen  you,  when 
he  refused  others:  he  chose  you,  before  you  chose  him.  This 
appears, 

4.  From  the  antiquity  of  the  choice,  from  the  begimiing; 
not  from  the  beginning  of  your  effectual  calling,  nor  of  our 
preaching  to  you,  nor  of  the  gospel,  nor  of  time,  but  from  eter- 
nity: for  though  the  phrase,  from  the  beginning,  seems  to 
have  respect  to  time,  yet  by  it  eternity  is  generally  to  be  under- 
stood, in  the  sacred  writings;  as  where  God  is  called  the  an- 
cient of  days,  to  signify  his  eternity,  Dan.  vii.  9,  and  where 
wisdom,  speaking  in  the  person  of  Christ,  says,  "  I  was  set  up 
from  everlasting,  from  the  beginning,  or  ever  the  earth  was,'* 
Prov.  viii.  23.  And  that  this  must  be  the  sense  of  the  words 
in  our  text,  is  evident,  from  that  place  where  God  is  said  to 
choose  us  in  Clirist,  "before  the  foundation  of  the  world," 
Eph,  i.  4. 

5.  We  have  the  end  of  the  choice,  or  the  blessing  that  they 
were  chosen  to,  even  salvation.  Not  to  external  privileges, 
not  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  gospel,  not  to  the  means  of  salva- 
tion only,  but  to  salvation  itself;  complete  and  final  salvation, 
even  to  eternal  life.  This  was  what  God  had  chosen  them  to; 
and  this  was  to  be  the  consequence  of  their  faith  and  sanctifica- 
tion.  That  this  must  be  the  meaning  of  salvation  here,  is  indis- 
putable ;  not  only  from  the  following  words  in  the  text,  which 
tell  us,  that  they  were  chosen  to  salvation,  "  through  sanctifica- 
tion  of  the  Spirit,  and  belief  of  the  truth,"  but  also  from  the  sub- 
sequent verse ;  "  Whereunto  he  called  you,  by  our  gospel,  to  the 
obtaining  the  glory  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;"  i.  e.  to  which 
sanctification  and  faith  he  called  you,  by  the  preaching  of  our 
gospel  to  you,  that  you  might  by  these  obtain  the  glory  of  Christ, 
which  is  your  salvation.  Here  is  salvation  mentioned,  not  only 
distinct  from  sanctification  and  faith,  but  from  the  gospel,  the 
means  of  salvation;  and  therefore  by  it  must  be  meant  eternal 
salvation,  consisting  in  our  obtaining  the  glory  of  Christ,  or 
beholding  his  glory,  John  xvii,  24. 

6.  We  have  the  means  in  the  use  of  which  they  were  to 
enjoy  the  salvation,  to  which  they  were  chosen;  and  these  are 


70  OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION. 

sanctification  and  faith,  "  He  has  chosen  you  to  salvation, 
through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit,  and  behef  of  the  truth." 
God  did  not  choose  them  to  salvation,  without  hoUness  and 
faith;  he  did  not,  by  one  decree,  choose  them  to  salvation,  and, 
by  an  after-act,  determine  the  means;  he  did  not  choose  them 
to  salvation,  because  they  were  holy  and  faithful;  he  did  not 
choose  them  to  a  possible  or  probable  salvation,  that  is,  pro- 
vided they  performed  the  conditions  of  salvation,  and  did  believe 
they  were  holy,  which  he  left  entirely  to  their  own  choice;  but 
he  chose  them,  by  one  determinate  decree,  to  a  certain  salva- 
tion, which  they  should  infallibly  obtain,  through  faith  and 
sanctification :  and  these  two,  even  sanctification  and  faith,  the 
apostle  here  joins  together,  to  let  us  see  that  they  are  insepara- 
ble ;  and  to  assure  us,  that  they  shall  both  be  found  in  all  those 
whom  God  will  save. 

From  the  words  thus  divided  and  explained,  we  may  ob- 
serve, 

(1.)  That  there  is  a  certain  number  of  fallen  .^darn's  race, 
lohom  God  has  chosen  to  salvation.  The  Thessalonians  in  the 
text  were,  as  elect,  plainly  distinguished  from  those  of  whom 
the  apostle  had  been  speaking,  in  the  foregoing  context;  not  as 
chosen  to  the  external  means  of  salvation,  for,  in  this  sense,  the 
others  were  chosen  as  well  as  they,  but  as  chosen  to  eternal 
Hfe.  Election  cannot  properly  be  universal;  the  very  nature 
of  the  act  supposes  a  refusal  of  some.  There  being  some  elect, 
certainly  infers  some  non-elect:  There  is  a  refnnant,  sscys  the 
apostle,  according  to  the  election  of  grace;  and  a  remnant  can 
never  be  all. 

(2.)  When  God  chooses  persons  to  an  end,  he  also  deter- 
mines the  means  to  that  end.  The  same  decree  that  designs 
any  persons  to  salvation,  ascertains  the  means  for  the  obtaining 
of  that  salvation :  and  these  are  declared  to  be  faith  and  holi- 
ness ;  for  "  he  who  believes  not,  shall  not  see  life ;  but  the  wrath 
of  God  abides  on  him,"  John  iii.  36;  "and  without  holiness,  no 
man  shall  see  the  Lord,"  Heb.  xii.  14.  "  God  has  chosen  you 
to  salvation,  through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit,  and  belief  of 
the  truth."  God  has  chosen  you  to  salvation,  and  therefore  he 
has  sanctified  your  spirits,  or  rather  has  given  you  his  Spirit,  to 
sanctify  you,  and  make  you  to  believe  the  truth  of  his  gospel. 
Faith  and  holiness  are  not  the  causes  of  election,  but  are  the 
necessary  means  by  which  the  elect  enjoy  that  salvation,  to 
which  God  chooses  them,  and  may  properly  be  said  to  be  a  part 
of  the  salvation  decreed,  if  there  is  any  justice  in  the  distinction 
of  salvation  into  initial  and  final. 

If  faith  and  holiness  were  the  causes  of  election,  then  it 
would  not  be  of  grace,  according  to  the  apostle  Paul's  way  of 
reasoning;  "  If  by  grace,  then  is  it  no  more  of  works,  other- 
wise grace  is  no  more  grace;  but  if  it  be  of  works,  then  is  it  no 


OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION.  71 

more  grace,  otherwise  work  is  no  more  work;"  but  the  elec- 
tion is  of  grace,  Rom.  xi.  5,  6.  If  faith  and  hohness  were  the 
causes  of  election,  God  could  not  be  said  to  choose  us  that  we 
might  be  holy;  for  holiness  cannot  in  the  same  respect  be  both 
cause  and  end:  we  cannot  be  chosen  to  it  and  for  it  both,  but 
God  chose  men  that  they  might  be  holy,  Eph.  i.  4.  If  faith  and 
holiness  were  the  causes  of  election,  then  God  could  not  be 
said  to  choose  us  first,  but  we  rather  to  choose  him  first; 
whereas  our  Saviour  tells  his  disciples,  "  Ye  have  not  chosen 
me,  but  I  have  chosen  you,  and  ordained  you,  that  you  should 
go  and  bring  forth  fruit,"  John  xv.  16.  If  faith  and  holiness 
were  the  causes  of  election,  then  there  would  be  no  room  for 
that  objection  of  the  non-elect;  "Why  does  he  yet  find  fault? 
for  who  has  resisted  his  will?"  Rom.  ix.  19.  Nor  would  the 
answer  the  apostle  gives  to  the  objection  be  pertinent;  "Nay, 
but,  0  man,  who  art  thou  that  repliest  against  God?  Shall  the 
thing  formed  say  to  him  that  formed  it,  Why  hast  thou  made 
me  thus?  Hath  not  the  potter  power  over  the  clay,  of  the 
same  lump  to  make  one  vessel  to  honour,  and  another  to  dis- 
honour? What  if  God,  willing  to  show  his  wrath,  and  to  make 
his  power  known,  endured,  with  much  long-suffering,  the  ves- 
sels of  wrath  fitted  to  destruction;  and  that  he  might  make 
known  the  riches  of  his  glory,  on  the  vessels  of  mercy,  which 
he  hath  before  prepared  to  glory ;  even  us  whom  he  has  called, 
not  of  the  Jews  only,  but  also  of  the  Gentiles,"  Rom.  ix.  20 — 24. 
"  So  then  it  is  not  of  him  that  wills,  nor  of  him  that  runs,  but  of 
God  that  shows  mercy,"  chap.  ix.  16. 

(3.)  Election  is  an  eternal  purpose  of  God  to  save.  The 
Socinians  and  Remonstrants  assert  it  to  be  only  a  temporal  act, 
and  so  confound  election  with  effectual  calling;  whereas  the 
Scriptures  speak  of  them  as  distinct  things,  asserting  our  voca- 
tion to  be  a  temporary  act,  and  our  election  to  be  an  eternal 
purpose  of  God.  Thus,  when  our  Saviour  says,  "  Many  are 
called,  but  few  are  chosen;"  Matt.  xx.  16;  and  when  the  apos- 
tle Paul  says,  "  Whom  he  predestinated,  them  he  also  called," 
and  speaks  of  persons  as  "  called  according  to  the  purpose  of 
God;"  here  is  a  plain  distinction  between  being  called,  and 
being  chosen  and  predestinated.  So  when  the  apostle,  in  the 
text  and  context,  talks  of  being  "  chosen  in  the  beginning  to 
salvation,  and  of  being  called  by  the  gospel;"  and  in  another 
place,  of  God's  "  purpose  and  grace,  which  was  given  us  in 
Christ  Jesus,  before  the  world  began,"  2  Tim.  i.  9,  he  plainly 
declares  to  us,  that,  though  our  vocation  is  temporary,  our  elec- 
tion is  an  eternal  act  of  God.  This  is  demonstrable  from  the 
pre-ordination  of  Christ  to  be  a  sacrifice ;  "  who  verily  was 
foreordained  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  but  was  mani- 
fested in  these  last  times  for  believers;"  1  Pet.  i.  20;  and  who 
was  "  a  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world,"  Rev. 


72  OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION. 

xiii.  8.  I  might  add  to  these  that  text,  where  Christ's  people 
are  said  to  "  inherit  a  kingdom  prepared  for  them,  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world,"  Matt.  xxv.  54,  All  which  Scriptures 
do  abundantly  prove  to  us,  that  election  is  an  eternal  purpose 
of  God  to  save,  and  so  to  be  distinguished  from  our  actual  sal- 
vation, both  in  whole  and  in  part. 

(4.)  To  be  chosen  of  God  to  salvation,  is  matter  of  great 
thankfulness.  This  is  a  greater  blessing  than  to  be  chosen  as 
Israel  of  old  was  to  Canaan,  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and 
honey;  or  as  David,  to  be  chosen  a  king ;  or  as  Jeremiah,  to  be 
a  prophet;  or  as  John,  to  be  a  forerunner  of  Christ ;  or  as  Paul, 
to  be  an  apostle  of  Christ.  It  is  a  greater  blessing  than  to  be 
chosen  universal  monarch  of  the  world:  this  is  the  very  foun- 
tain and  foundation  of  all  blessedness. 

Before  I  enter  upon  what  I  particularly  design,  from  these 
words  of  the  text,  I  would  beg  leave  to  lay  down  a  few  prem- 
ises, which  may  serve  to  direct  us  in  judging  of  and  censuring 
the  doctrine  of  election.     As, 

1.  The  doctrine  of  an  election  is  so  fully  and  clearly  revealed 
in  the  word  of  God,  that  Christians  of  all  persuasions  profess  to 
believe  it,  though  they  differ  widely  in  their  sentiments  about 
the  nature  and  extent  of  it ;  wherefore  the  doctrine  ought  not 
to  be  condemned  in  the  gross,  and  it  betrays  great  weakness 
and  egregious  folly  to  take  oftence  at  the  very  word. 

2.  There  is  no  doctrine,  though  never  so  plainly  laid  down 
in  the  sacred  Scriptures,  but  what  subtle  and  selfish  men  have 
formed  some  objections  against. 

3.  We  ought  not  to  deny,  or  to  be  staggered  in  our  minds 
about  a  doctrine  we  have  received,  because  of  some  objections 
raised  against  it, which, it  may  be,  we  cannot,  at  present,  answer; 
for,  if  so,  there  is  no  doctrine  but  what  we  should  be  tempted 
to  deny,  at  one  time  or  another. 

4.  In  order  to  a  settled  belief  of  any  controverted  doctrine  of 
faith,  we  ought  carefully  to  weigh  and  consider  the  several  ar- 
guments and  objections  for  and  against  it,  and  to  be  determined 
on  that  side  of  the  question  where  the  chief  strength  lies. 

5.  In  our  inquiries  after  revealed  truths,  we  should  have  an 
immediate  dependence  on  the  Divine  Spirit,  to  enlighten  our 
minds,  and  to  lead  us  into  knowledge  of  saving  doctrines ;  other- 
wise we  can  never  be  sincere  inquirers  after  truth. 

6.  Persons  should  not  censure  a  doctrine  as  damnable,  unless 
they  are  to  prove  that  it  is  false,  and  then  the  belief  of  it  is 
hazardous  to  salvation.  This  I  particularly  mention,  because 
many  persons  have  been  very  lavish  in  throwing  the  black  epi- 
thets of  unmerciful,  destructive,  and  damnable,  upon  this  doc- 
trine of  special  determinate  election. 

Having  laid  down  these  rules,  by^  way  of  premise,  I  proceed 
now  to  the  main  thing  I  intend,  from  the  words  of  our  text,  and 


OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION.  73 

that  is,  according  to  the  province  assigned  me  in  this  lecture,  to 
open  and  vindicate  the  great  and  important  doctrine  of  special 
election.  And  the  method  which  I  propose,  through  divine  as- 
sistance, to  pursue  in  this  affair,  will  be  this: 

I.  I  shall  state  the  case  in  hand,  and  explain  what  I  take  to 

be  meant  by  this  doctrine. 

II.  I  shall  produce  positive  proof  to  confirm  it. 

III.  I  shall  consider  the  arguments  and  objections  brought 
against  it.     And, 

IV.  I  shall  make  some  application. 

It  cannot  be  expected  that  I  should  discuss  this  doctrine  in  all 
its  parts  ai^d  properties,  in  the  narrow  compass  to  which  I  am 
confined :  I  shall  therefore  chiefly  apply  myself  to  what  I  take 
to  be  the  main  controversy  of  the  present  day,  as  to  the  article 
of  election  ;  and  that  is,  whether  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  per- 
sonal absolute  election  to  salvation,  in  contradistinction  to  a 
general  national  election  to  church  privileges,  or  to  the  means 
of  salvation,  and  to  a  conditional  indeterminate  election  to  sal- 
vation. 

I.  I  am  to  explain  the  doctrine.  And  here  I  would  give  the 
various  senses  of  the  word  election,  especially  in  the  book  of 
God :  and  then  lay  down  the  different  opinions  of  persons  about 
the  doctrine. 

1st.  As  to  the  different  acceptations  of  the  word.  Sometimes 
it  has  respect  to  excellency;  and  thus  it  is  referred  both  to  per- 
sons and  things:  \o persons, ^wch.  as  have  any  uncommon  or  pecu- 
liar excellence,  are  said  to  be  chosen,  or  choice  persons;  and 
that  whether  it  refers  to  superior  stature,  and  external  appear- 
ance, as  in  the  case  of  Saul,  who  was  called  "  a  choice  young 
man,  because,  from  his  shoulders  and  upwards,  he  was  higher 
than  any  of  the  people,"  1  Sam.  ix.  2,  or  to  any  excellency  of 
art,  as  the  seven  hundred  left-handed  men  are  called  chosen 
men,  "  because  every  one  could  sling  stones  to  an  hair's  breadth, 
and  not  miss,"  Judges  xx.  16;  or  to  uncommon  courage  and 
might,  as  where  it  is  said,  2  Chron.  xiii.  3,  "  Abijah  set  the  battle 
in  array,  with  an  army  of  valiant  men  of  war,  even  four  hundred 
thousand  chosen  men :  Jeroboam  also  set  the  battle  in  array 
against  him,  with  eight  hundred  thousand  chosen  men,  being 
mighty  men  of  valour."  Thus  the  word  is  applied  to  persons. 
We  find  it  also  applied  to  things  that  are  excellent:  Thus  we 
read  of  chosen  chariots,  Exod.  xiv.  7,  and  of  choice  sheep, 
Neh.  V.  18.  Whatever  is  excellent,  is  said  to  be  elect  or  cho- 
sen, in  the  style  of  the  Hebrews,  because  when  persons  choose. 
they  generally  pick  out  the  best,  and  most  valuable  from  among 
the  rest. — Sometimes  the  word  election  signifies  a  choosing  to 
a  particular  office  and  employ,  whether  civil  or  sacred:  Thus 
Saul  is  said  to  be  chosen  to  be  a  king,  1  Sam.  x.  24;  and  Judas 
IS  said  to  be  chosen  to  the  apostleship,  Jolm  vi,  70.    Sometimes 

10 


74  OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION. 

it  signifies  a  choosing  to  external  privileges,  and  this  not  of 
private  and  single  persons,  but  of  whole  bodies  and  commu- 
nities. Thus  the  people  of  Israel  are  said  to  be  an  elect  and 
chosen  people,  in  many  places  of  the  Old  Testament,  because 
God  had  distinguished  them  from  all  other  nations,  by  confer- 
ring peculiar  blessings  upon  them. — Sometimes  it  may  refer  to 
those  who,  under  the  gospel,  have  been  proselyted  to  the  Chris- 
tian faith,  and  enjoy  the  means  of  salvation;  whence  the  con- 
verted Jews  are  said  to  be  a  chosen  generation,  I  Pet.  ii.  9. 
But  more  usually  by  this  term  is  meant  an  election  to  eternal 
life  and  salvation.  And  here  sometimes  we  find  the  word  taken 
objectively,  for  the  persons  chosen,  the  election  hath  obtained^ 
Rom.  xi.  7,  i.  e,,  the  elect,  or  persons  elected. — Sometimes  it  is 
taken  formally,  for  the  act  of  God  in  choosing,  which  is  called 
the  election  of  grace,  Rom.  xi.  5,  and  the  purpose  of  God  ac- 
cording to  election,  chap.  ix.  11. 

2dly.  I  proceed  now  to  state  the  different  opinions  of  persons, 
as  to  the  doctrine  of  election. 

(1.)  Some  by  election  understand  no  more  than  a  general 
tiational  election,  an  election  to  the  external  means  of  salva- 
tion; as  the  Jews  were  said  to  be  an  elect  people,  because 
they  had  the  statutes  and  ordinances  of  God;  and  ours  may  be 
called  an  elect  nation,  as  being  favoured  with  the  enjoyment 
of  the  gospel,  while  other  nations  have  not  the  means  of  grace. 
But,  though  we  allow  that  there  is  an  election,  thus  general 
and  external,  yet  this  cannot  be  all  that  is  meant  by  election, 
because  we  often  meet  with  a  particular  and  personal  election, 
and  an  election  to  salvation,  in  the  sacred  Scriptures. 

(2.)  Some,  by  election,  suppose  no  more  to  be  intended,  than 
a  conditional  decree,  or  purpose  of  God,  to  save  all  that  believe 
in  Christ,  repent  of  their  sins,  and  yield  sincere  obedience  to  him. 
But  we  ought  to  distinguish  between  a  promise  and  a  purpose, 
a  declaration  and  a  determination.  God  does,  indeed,  by  his 
revealed  will,  declare,  that  all  who  believe  and  repent,  shall  be 
saved ;  but  we  are  no  where  told  that  he  has  decreed  to  save 
men  upon  these  precarious  conditions.  God  cannot  properly  be 
said  to  decree  men  to  salvation,  provided  they  believe  and 
repent,  or  to  decree  to  save  those  who  believe  and  repent.  Be- 
cause, 

Faith  and  repentance  are  not  the  conditions  of  God's  de- 
creeing salvation  to  any,  but  the  qualifications  of  the  persons, 
whom  God  has  absolutely  decreed  to  save.  God  has  not  decreed 
to  save  men  upon  the  conditions  of  faith  and  repentance,  but  he 
has  determined  to  give  faith  and  repentance  to  all  whom  he  has 
decreed  to  save;  and  accordingly  he  has  declared  these  to  be 
necessary  qualifications  in  all  saved  ones. 

If  God  decreed  men  to  salvation  upon  these  conditions,  elec- 
tion would  not  be  of  grace;  for  if  any  work  performed,  or  to 


OF   PARTICtJLAR  ELECTION.  7$ 

be  performed  by  lis,  is  the  cause  of  God's  choosing  us,  God  can- 
not be  said  to  choose  us  freely;  nor  can  it  be  an  act  of  grace, 
according  to  the  , apostle  Paul's  way  of  arguing,  Rom.  xi.  5,  6, 
which  we  observed  before. 

Election,  according  to  the  Scripture  notion  of  it,  is  effectual 
to  salvation.  God  will  give  faith  and  eternal  life  to  all  his 
chosen ;  wherefore  it  cannot  be  a  mere  conditional  decree,  to 
save  those  that  believe  and  repent,  without  securing  the  faith 
and  repentance  of  any:  but  more  of  this  hereafter. 

If  God  was  to  decree  salvation  to  men  upon  the  uncertain 
conditions  of  faith  and  repentance,  the  will  of  God  must,  in  a 
most  important  affair,  depend  on  the  will  of  man;  nor  could 
God  absolutely  determine  the  salvation  of  any  one  soul,  till  he 
was  to  see  how  the  will  of  man  would  turn;  nay,  not  till  his 
perseverance  to  the  end,  and  that  will  not  be  till  death. 

According  to  this  notion,  no  one  may  be  saved;  for  if  God 
has  only  determined  to  save  those  who  believe  and  repent,  and 
not  decreed  to  give  faith  and  repentance  to  any,  it  may  so  hap- 
pen, that  not  one  person  shall  eventually  be  saved,  notwith- 
standing this  decree  of  God ;  for,  if  it  is  left  to  every  man's  free 
will,  to  believe  and  repent,  whatever  boasts  we  may  make  of 
its  power,  we  have  from  hence  no  positive  assurance  that  any 
one  shall  believe  and  repent. 

(3.)  Some,  by  election,  understand  no  more  than  a  temporary 
separation,  calling,  wad  conversion;  but  this  is  the  ejfect  of 
election,  and  not  election  itself.  We  are  called  according  to 
Go(Vs  purpose;  and  whom  he  predestinated  them  he  also 
called.  Rom.  viii.  28.  30.  Now  predestination  and  the  purpose 
of  God  must  be  very  different  from  calling,  which  proceeds 
from  it,  unless  the  cause  and  the  effect  are  the  same  thing. 
Election  is  frequently  spoken  of  as  an  act  of  God,  in  eternity ; 
and  therefore  it  cannot  be  a  mere  temporary  act:  the  evidence 
of  our  election  is  in  time,  the  decree  itself  is  from  eternity. 

(4.)  Some,  by  election,  understand  the  eternal  purpose  of 
God,  to  save  certain  and  particular  persons.  Now,  under  this 
general  notion  of  it,  we  shall  find  the  sentiments  of  men  to  be 
very  different.  Some  tell  us,  that  it  is  for  faith  and  good  works 
foreseen;  but  if  we  are  chosen  to  faith  and  good  works,  we 
cannot  be  chosen  for  them.  God  does  not  foresee  that  men 
will  believe  and  be  holy,  and  from  hence  choose  them  to  salva- 
tion ;  but  he  foresees  that  men  will  believe  and  be  holy,  because 
he  has  chosen  them  to  salvation,  through  faith  and  holiness. 
God  cannot  be  said  to  foresee  that  any  will  believe  and  be  holy, 
to  whom  he  has  not  determined  to  give  these  saving  principles; 
and  he  has  determined  to  give  them  only  to  those  whom  he 
has  chosen  to  salvation.  Some  assert,  that  God,  in  electing 
certain  persons  to  salvation,  had  no  regard  to  the  fall;  that 
election  respects  men  only  as  creatures  of  his  making,  and  not 


76  OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION. 

as  creatures  that  had  fallen  from  him;  but  though  the  sove- 
reignty of  God  may  herein  seem  to  have  a  Avonderful  display, 
yet  I  cannot  think  that  his  other  divine  perfections  are  glorified 
by  this  opinion.  Some  allow  of  a  particular  election,  but  deny 
any  such  thing  as  a  non-election  or  preterition;  they  grant,  that 
a  certain  number  shall  infallibly  be  saved,  but,  at  the  same  time, 
affirm,  that  all  may  be  saved  if  they  will.  This  is  an  opinion 
that  is  absurd  in  its  very  nature,  as  well  as  it  is  evidently  con- 
trary to  the  word  of  God.  Some  tell  us,  that  they  believe  both 
an  election  and  a  reprobation:  but  further  suppose,  that  there 
is  a  middle  sort  of  persons,  who  are  neither  elect  nor  reprobate, 
and  who  may  yet  be  saved:  but  this  is  a  notion  of  which  we 
have  no  footsteps  in  the  word  of  God,  and  which  is  altogether 
indefensible. 

Thus  have  I  given  you  the  various  sentiments  of  persons 
about  the  doctrine  of  election;  if  I  may  be  permitted  now  to 
give  my  sense  of  it,  it  is  this:  It  is  the  eternal  and  immutable 
purpose  and  design  of  God  to  save  a  determinate  number  of 
fallen  Adam's  children,  by  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  not  a  national 
election,  or  an  election  to  church  privileges  only ;  it  is  not  a 
determination  to  save  those  who  believe,  and  which  leaves  it 
uncertain  whether  any  will  believe;  it  is  not  a  temporary  call 
of  men  to  salvation;  but,  as  I  have  observed,  an  CA'-erlasting 
and  invariable  purpose  and  design  of  God,  to  save  certain  par- 
ticular persons  of  Adam's  fallen  race.  God  foresaw  in  his 
eternal  foreknowledge,  the  whole  posterity  of  Adam  lost  and 
undone,  and  he  determines,  in  his  sovereign  good  will,  to  raise 
to  his  mercy  a  trophy  of  honour,  by  erecting  to  himself  a  glori- 
ous church,  out  of  the  rubbish  of  this  apostasy ;  and  that  his 
purpose  according  to  election  might  stand,  without  any  injury 
offered  to  his  other  perfections,  he  entered  into  a  covenant  with 
Christ,  as  the  second  Adam,  and  Head  of  this  chosen  people, 
according  to  which  covenant  Jesus  Christ  was  to  fulfil  the  law, 
suffer,  and  die,  in  the  room  and  stead  of  his  chosen  people,  and 
thereby  purchase  for  them,  and  secure  to  them  faith,  sanctifica- 
tion,  and  eternal  life;  so  that  all  the  elect  of  God  shall  infallibly 
be  saved.  When  God  chose  a  people  to  salvation,  he  laid  his 
scheme  in  such  infinite  wisdom,  that  not  one  of  his  chosen  peo- 
ple should  miss  of  the  end. 

II.  I  am  now  to  prove,  that  there  is  such  an  election,  or  that 
God  has  immutably  designed  the  salvation  of  a  certain  number 
of  fallen  Adam's  children.  This  is  a  doctrine  that  is  too  gene- 
rally denied  and  exploded,  in  the  present  day.  Persons  make 
a  jest  of  particular  personal  election;  and,  in  the  room  of  it, 
set  up  a  general  national  one :  but  whatever  insults  and  con- 
tempt are  thrown  upon  this  truth,  I  hope,  by  divine  assistance, 
to  make  it  appear,  that  it  is  an  article  founded  on  the  sacred 
Scriptures,  and  a  doctrine  according  to  godliness. 


OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION.  77 

1st.  We  may  argue  the  truth  of  the  doctrine  from  the  divine 
perfections.  Whatever  doctrines  are  deduced  from  Scripture, 
and  are  agreeable  to  tlie  divine  perfections,  must  be  true ;  and 
that  this  is  so,  I  will  endeavour  to  prove,  by  the  following 
method  of  reasoning. 

(1.)  It  must  be  granted  that  there  is  one  ever-living  and.  true 
God,  who  is  possessed  of  all  possible  perfection.  To  deny  that 
there  is  a  God,  is  to  break  in  upon  the  first  principle  of  reason; 
to  suppose  an  imperfect  God,  is  a  contradiction  to  common 
sense,  and  contrary  to  all  the  ideas  we  have  of  Deity,  both  from 
natural  and  revealed  religion.  If  there  is  a  God,  he  must  be  a 
Being  of  absolute  perfection. 

(2.)  It  must  be  allowed,  that  whatever  perfection  or  excel- 
lency is  to  be  found  in  any  creature,  the  same  must  be  essential 
to  the  Most  High  God,  and  that  in  the  most  eminent  and 
transcendent  degree.  If  every  creature  derives  its  being  from 
God,  as  its  first  cause,  then  no  creature  can  possibly  be  pos- 
sessed of  any  excellency,  but  what  must,  in  the  highest  and 
most  absolute  sense,  belong  to  God.  Since,  therefore,  God 
made  all  things,  he  must  be  before  and  above  all  things;  before 
them  in  existence,  and  above  them  in  perfection.  »'  He  that 
planted  the  ear,  shall  he  not  hear.^  He  that  formed  the  eye, 
shall  he  not  see?  He  that  teacheth  man  knowledge,  shall  not 
he  know?"  Psal.  xciv.  9,  10. 

(3.)  No  one  can  deny  that  it  is  an  excellency  in  any  creature 
to  be  tvise  and  powerful;  wise  to  lay  a  scheme  of  what  he 
intends  to  do,  and  powerful  to  perform  and  accomplish  what  he 
designs.  For  a  rational  being  to  sei  about  a  work,  without  first 
forming  a  model  in  his  mind  of  what  he  intends  to  pursue,  is  to 
discover  a  defect  of  wisdom;  and  not  to  be  able  to  accomplish 
the  plan  he  has  laid  down,  betrays  a  want  of  power. 

These  premises  being  granted,  which  cannot,  I  apprehend,  be 
reasonably  denied,  it  must  follow  from  hence,  that  whatever  the 
great  God  does,  as  the  effect  of  power,  he  designed  to  do  it:  and 
whatever  he  designed  to  do,  he  does.  These  are  propositions 
self-evident,  which  ought  not  to  be  disputed;  for  to  suppose  God 
to  perform  any  work  which  he  did  not  first  design  to  perform, 
is  to  charge  him  with  a  degree  of  folly,  and  with  acting  below 
an  intelligent  agent;  to  suppose  him  to  design  to  do  a  thing, 
which  he  does  not  effect,  is  to  tax  him  with  impotence.  If  it  is 
an  instance  of  the  wisdom  and  power  of  man,  first  to  design  a 
work,  and  then  to  perfect  it,  the  great  God,  who  is  infinite  in 
both  these  perfections,  must  design  what  he  effects,  and  effect 
wliat  he  has  designed. 

Either  God  actually  saves  all  men,  or  he  does  not;  if  he  does, 
he  must  have  designed  it;  if  he  does  not,  it  is  plain  he  never 
designed  it.  To  assert  that  God  designed  to  save  all  men,  and 
yet  that,  in  fact,  he  only  saves  some,  is,  in  effect,  to  affirm,  either 


78  OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION. 

that  he  changes  his  purpose  as  to  a  great  many,  or  that  he  wants 
power  to  execute  his  intentions  towards  them;  the  very  suppo- 
sition of  either  of  which  is  false  and  blasphemous:  for  reason 
must  tell  us,  that  it  is  impossible,  for  an  infinitely  wise  God,  to 
change  iiis  mind,  or  to  alter  his  purpose ;  and  that  it  is  equally 
impossible  that  a  Being  of  almighty  power  should  not  be  able 
to  biing  his  purposes  to  effect.  To  this  decision  of  reason,  the 
sacred  Scriptures  bear  their  testimony,  in  the  plainest  and 
strongest  assertions;  when  it  is  said,  that  "  God  is  not  man,  that 
he  should  lie;  neither  the  son  of  man,  that  he  should  repent; 
has  he  said,  and  shall  he  not  do  it;  or  has  he  spoken,  and  shall 
he  not  make  it  good?"  Numb,  xxiii.  19.  God  may  seem  to 
repent,  or  to  do  those  things  in  his  providence,  which  would 
argue  repentance  in  man;  but  whatever  contrariety  there  may 
be  in  his  providence,  there  can  be  no  alteration  in  his  pur- 
poses; therefore  Job,  under  the  different  dispensations  of  God 
towards  him,  readily  acknowledged  this  of  him:  "He  is  of  one 
mind,  and  who  can  turn  him?  and  what  his  soul  desires,  even 
that  he  does;  for  he  performs  the  thing  that  is  appointed  for 
me."  Job  xxiii.  13,  14.  With  how  much  majesty  does  the 
great  Jehovah  deliver  himself  in  these  words:  "  I  am  God,  and 
there  is  none  else ;  I  am  God,  and  there  is  none  like  me,  declaring 
the  end  from  the  beginning,  and  from  ancient  times  the  things 
that  are  not  yet  done,  saying.  My  counsel  shall  stand,  and  I  will 
do  all  my  pleasure."  Isa.  xlvi.  9,  10.  To  this  the  church  bears 
witness,  when  she  says,  "Our  God  is  in  the  heavens;  he  hath 
done  whatsoever  he  pleased."  Psal.  cxv.  3.  So  Solomon  tells 
us  that  there  "  are  many  devices  in  a  man's  heart ;  nevertheless 
the  counsel  of  the  Lord  that  shall  stand."  Pro  v.  xix.  21.  God 
works  without  control  or  resistance ;  "  he  does  according  to  his 
will  in  the  army  of  heaven,  and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth ;  and  none  can  stay  his  hand,  or  say  to  him.  What  doest 
thou?"  Dan.  iv.  35.  "In  whom  also  (says  the  apostle,  speak- 
ing of  himself,  and  the  believing  Ephesians)  we  have  obtained 
an  inheritance,  being  predestinated  according  to  the  purpose  of 
him,  who  worketh  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will," 
Eph.  i.  11.  Thus  our  doctrine  stands  firm  upon  the  infinite 
wisdom  and  almighty  power  of  God.  All  that  God  designed 
to  save,  he  saves;  but  he  actually  saves  some  only,  therefore 
he  designed  to  save  only  some  of  fallen  Adam's  children ;  for, 
if  we  consider  God  as  infinite  in  wisdom,  and  of  almighty 
power,  there  cannot  be  a  more  rational  way  of  arguing  than 
from  his  acts  to  his  designs. 

I  might  further  argue  the  doctrine  from  ihe  foreknowledge  of 
God.  God  foreknows  from  eternity  whatsoever  shall  come  to 
pass  in  time,  and  particularly  he  foreknows  all  that  will  be 
saved.  Now,  either  all  men  will  be  saved,  or  not;  if  they  will 
not  in  fact  all  be  saved,  then  God  does  not  foreknow  that  all 


OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION.  79 

will  be  saved,  but  he  only  foreknows  the  salvation  of  those 
who  shall  eventually  be  saved;  and  therefore  he  foreknows 
their  salvation,  because  he  designed  to  save  them.  If  God  did, 
from  eternity,  foreknow  that  only  some  of  the  fallen  race  of 
Adam  would  be  saved,  then  he,  from  eternity,  designed  to  save 
some  of  them  only:  but  God,  did  from  eternity,  foreknow  that 
some  only  would  be  saved,  because,  in  fact,  all  will  not  be 
saved. 

Nor  can  this  be  any  impeachment  of  the  justice  or  mercy  of 
God,  because  he  had  been  just  had  he  determined  to  destroy  all 
Adam's  sinful  offspring;  and  it  is  the  effect  of  infinite  mercy  if 
he  saves  any  of  them.  Should  it  be  said  that  God  designed  the 
salvation  of  all  men  upon  certain  conditions;  to  this  it  may  be 
replied,  either  God  did  design  that  tiiese  conditions  should  be 
performed  by  all,  or  he  did  not;  if  he  did,  then  all  would  be 
saved;  and  that  all  will  be  saved,  those  who  oppose  our  doc- 
trine do  not  pretend  to  affirm ;  if  he  did  not,  then  it  must  carry 
in  it  a  high  reflection  on  the  wisdom  of  God,  to  suppose  him  to 
design  an  end,  upon  precarious  conditions,  or  to  decree  the 
salvation  of  all  men,  upon  the  performance  of  conditions,  which 
he  must  foreknow  many  of  them  would  not  perform,  because 
it  is  evident  in  fact,  that  many  do  not  perform  them. 

To  conclude  this  head  of  argument :  If  it  cannot  be  proved 
that  all  men  will  actually  be  saved,  it  is  weak  in  us,  and  it  sup- 
poses a  manifest  defect  in  God,  to  affirm  that  he  designed  the 
salvation  of  all  men  upon  certain  conditions;  and  especially  it 
is  the  more  so,  because,  notwithstanding  this  universal  condi- 
tional decree,  it  is  uncertain  whether  any  one  will  be  saved; 
for  by  the  same  reason  that  we  cannot  affirm  the  actual  salva- 
tion of  all  men,  from  this  decree,  we  cannot  ascertain  the  cer- 
tain salvation  of  one  man.  That  decree  which  make  the  salva- 
tion of  all  men  only  possible,  does  not  assure  the  salvation  of 
one  man,  but  renders  the  salvation  of  each  individual  person  a 
bare  possibility. 

2dly.  I  come  now  to  examine  what  proof  we  have  of  this 
doctrine  in  the  word  of  God. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  produce  any  arguments  which  might 
be  collected  from  the  sacred  writings,  by  comparing  several 
Scriptures  together,  but  shall  vindicate  those  particular  texts 
which  I  apprehend  to  confirm  the  doctrine  under  consideration; 
and  these,  for  the  sake  of  variety  and  method,  I  shall  digest 
into  this  order.  I  shall,  first,  produce  those  that  prove  a  per- 
sonal election,  in  contradistinction  from  a  national  one;  then 
I  shall  ofter  such  as  assert  an  election  to  salvation,  in  opposi- 
tion to  those  who  affirm  that  election  refers  only  to  the  means 
of  salvation,  or  to  church  privileges;  and  afterwards  I  shall 
mention  those  that  assure  the  certain  salvation  of  a  chosen  peo- 
ple, to  refute  the  notion  of  an  universal  conditional  election. 


80  OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION. 

(1.)  I  would  produce  some  of  those  scriptures  that  prove  a 
personal  election,  in  contradistinction  to  a  national  one.  That 
the  election  mentioned  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  has  a  frequent 
respect  to  general  bodies,  or  communities,  I  will  readily  allow; 
but  to  affirm  that  it  is  only  of  such,  is  a  bold  and  groundless 
assertion.  It  is  very  evident,  that  our  Saviour  speaks  of  a  par- 
ticular, and  not  general;  a  personal,  and  not  national  election; 
when  he  says,  "  Many  are  called,  but  few  are  chosen,"  Mat. 
xxii.  14.  This,  say  some,  is  only  a  proverbial  speech;  but  if 
it  was,  the  proverb  must  carry  some  meaning  in  it.  These 
words,  says  one,  refer  to  the  Jews,  of  whom,  though  many 
were  called  by  Christ  and  his  apostles  to  faith  in  him,  yet  few 
of  them  did  or  would  accept  of  him  as  their  Saviour,  or  em- 
brace the  faith  of  Christ.  But  though  these  words  have  a  priipe 
reference  to  the  Jews,  yet  it  will  not  follow  that  the  doctrine 
contained  in  them  is  not  of  more  large  and  general  extent,  and 
may  refer  to  those  who,  in  all  after  ages,  are  under  the  gospel 
call.  Admitting  that  by  the  chosen  is  meant  those  who  believe, 
which,  however,  is  against  the  grammatical  sense  of  the  words, 
it  is  a  strong  proof  of  their  election,  their  faith  being  the 
evidence  thereof.  Faith  is  of  the  elect  of  God,  and  therefore 
few  believe,  because  few  are  elected,  according  to  that  of  our 
Saviour:  "Ye  believe  not,  because  ye  are  not  of  my  sheep," 
John  X.  26.  The  sense  of  the  place  I  take  to  be  this:  Many  are 
called,  but  few  are  chosen,  i.  e.  many  are  called,  externally  by 
the  gospel,  to  outward  privileges,  but  few  are  externally  chosen 
to  salvation,  or  appear  to  be  chosen  to  salvation,  because  few 
believe  in  Christ :  but,  let  the  meaning  of  the  place  be  what  it 
will,  it  is  very  evident  that  the  few  who  are  said  to  be  chosen, 
must  be  understood  of  particular  persons,  and  not  of  nations  or 
societies. 

When  it  is  said,  "  For  the  elect's  sake  these  days  shall  be 
shortened,  and,  if  it  were  possible,  they  should  deceive  the  very 
elect;  and  he  shall  send  his  angels,  and  they  shall  gather  together 
his  elect  from  the  four  winds,  from  one  end  of  heaven  to  the 
other,"  Mat.  xxiv.  22,  24,  31;  these  passages  speak  of  par- 
ticular persons,  and  not  of  nations;  as  the  redeemed  are  said  to 
be  out  of"  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation," 
Rev.  v.  9.  When  it  is  said, "  If  it  be  possible,  they  shall  deceive 
the  elect;"  by  the  elect  some  would  have  to  be  understood  the 
persevering  Christians:  but  this  is  a  very  absurd  interpretation 
of  the  word,  because,  in  the  nature  of  things,  these  cannot  be 
deceived;  whereas  our  Saviour  founds  the  impossibility  of  their 
being  deceived  upon  the  immutable  decree  of  God,  securing 
them  as  his  elect  from  being  deceived  by  false  christs  and  false 
prophets.  If  it  is  said  by  the  elect  here  are  meant  the  faith- 
ful or  believers,  this  will  not  at  all  enervate  the  argument;  for 
men  are  believers  because  they  are  elected,  and  not  elected 


OF   PARTICULAR   ELECTION.  81 

because  they  are  believers;  and  because  they  are  elected,  there- 
fore ihey  shall  not  be  finally  deceived. 

When  the  apostle  says,  "  Whom  he  did  foreknow,  he  also  did 
predestinate  to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  his  Son,"  Rom. 
viii.  29,  this  place  cannot  be  understood  of  nations,  but  of  par- 
ticular persons.  So  in  that  famous  controverted  chapter,  Rom. 
ix.,  though  we  allow  that  the  election  of  the  Jews,  as  a  nation, 
is  to  be  considered  as  a  part  of  the  election  there  spoken  of,  yet 
it  is  beyond  all  doubt  that  a  personal  election  is  also  intended. 
This  is  evident,  not  only  from  the  instances  of  Jacob  and  Esau, 
but  of  Pharaoh,  and  the  many  declarations,  objections,  and 
answers,  thrown  about  in  that  same  chapter. 

The  "  remnant  according  to  the  election  of  grace,"  of  which 
tlie  apostle  speaks,  Rom.  xi.  5,  must  be  meant  of  particular  per- 
sons, and  informs  us  of  an  election  out  of  an  election;  "All  are 
not  Israel  that  are  of  Israel,"  says  the  apostle,  chap.  ix.  6.  All 
Israel  were  a  chosen  people,  as  a  body  and  nation ;  but  the  apos- 
tle speaks  of  a  remnant  chosen  out  of  this  elect  body,  and  this 
must  refer  to  individuals.  This  is  further  confirmed  from  the 
former  part  of  the  chapter:  "Hath  God  (says  the  apostle)  cast 
away  his  people?  God  forbid;"  as  if  he  should  say,  He  has  not 
done  so,  far  be  it  from  him  to  do  so;  "  for  I  also  am  an  Israel- 
ite," and  if  he  had  cast  ofi'  all  Israel,  he  had  cast  me  off;  "  God 
hath  not  cast  away  his  people  which  he  foreknew;"  Rom.  xi.  1, 
though  God  has  rejected  the  Jews,  as  an  elect  body,  yet  he  has 
not  cast  away  his  people,  those  whom  he  foreknew,  and  chose 
to  be  his  peculiar  people  among  this  body.  God  had  always  a 
chosen  people  among  Israel,  a  people  whom  he  designed  to  save 
with  an  everlasting  salvation,  Isa.  xlv.  17,  and  them  he  never 
rejected.  In  Elias's  time,  he  had  a  chosen  number  among  Israel; 
and,  says  the  apostle,  "  even  at  this  present  time  there  is  a  rem- 
nant, according  to  the  election  of  grace,"  Rom,  xi.  4,  5. 

Wlien  the  apostle  says,  "  I  endure  all  things  for  the  elect's 
sake,"  2  Tim.  ii.  10,  it  must  be  understood  of  particular  per- 
sons, and  not  of  general  bodies;  because  it  is  added,  "  that  they 
also,  together  with  him,  may  obtain  the  salvation  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus,  with  eternal  glory,"  viz.  the  salvation  which  is  to 
be  had  in  Christ,  or  which  is  laid  up  in  Christ,  their  Head,  for 
them,  to  eternal  glory;  to  the  eternal  glory  of  God,  who  had 
chosen  them  to  this  salvation,  and  laid  it  up  in  Christ  for  them; 
or  to  their  eternal  glory,  when  they  obtain  this  salvation.  A 
learned  author  tells  us,  that  for  the  elect's  sake,  is  no  more  than 
for  the  sake  of  Christians,  who  are  a  chosen  generation ;  but  if, 
by  Christians,  he  means  no  more  than  nominal  ones,  the  context 
refutes  this  interpretation.  If,  by  Christians,  he  intends  real 
believers,  such  as  shall  obtain  salvation,  these  are  properly  the 
elect  of  God;  who  therefore  shall  believe  and  obtain  salvation, 
because  they  are  elect. 

11 


8*2  OF    PARTICULAR   ELECTION. 

Thus  have  I  mentioned  several  places  of  Scripture  wherein 
a  personal  election  is  to  be  unc^erstood,  in  contradistinction  to  a 
national  one,  or  an  election  of  communities.  I  might  further 
produce  those  texts  which  speak  of  an  election  to  the  internal 
7;iea;2.s  of  salvation,  such  as  faith,  sanctification,  and  holiness; 
which,  as  they  prove  that  election  is  not  for  faith  and  good 
works  foreseen,  do  also  demonstrate  a  particular  election;  as,  for 
instance,  where  it  is  said,  that  those  who  love  God  are  "  called 
according  to  his  purpose,"  Rom.  viii.  28,  even  that  purpose 
which  he  purposed  in  himself  before  all  ages;  and  when  it  is 
said,  "  Whom  he  foreknew,  he  predestinated  to  be  conformed 
to  the  image  of  his  Son;"  not  merely  in  a  way  of  suffering,  but 
of  sanctity  and  holiness,  as  both  the  preceding  and  following 
context  plainly  proves;  so  God  is  said  to  choose  us,  in  Christ, 
before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  that  we  should  be  "  holy 
and  without  blame  before  him  in  love:"  Eph.  i.  4.  The  apos- 
tle in  another  place,  says,  "  We  are  God's  workmanship,  created 
in  Christ  Jesus  to  good  works,  which  God  hath  before  ordained, 
that  we  should  walk  in  them,"  chap.  ii.  10.  Paul  calls  himself 
an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  according  to  the  faith  of  God's  elect; 
where,  by  faith,  we  are  not  to  understand  the  doctrine  of  faith, 
which  all  who  enjoy  the  gospel  have,  but  that  faith  which  is 
peculiar  to  the  elect;  so  we  read  of  persons  who  are  elect  to 
obedience.  Now,  in  all  these  places,  election  must  be  under- 
stood as  special;  for  faith  and  holiness  are  not  of  nations,  but 
of  particular  persons  properly. 

Before  I  leave  this  head,  it  will  not  be  amiss  for  me  to  ob- 
serve, that  the  Scriptures  not  only  speak  frequently  of  a  parti- 
cular personal  election,  in  contradistinction  to  a  general  election 
of  nations  or  communities;  but  they  often  speak  of  an  election 
o{ persons,  as  determinate  and  certain,  in  opposition  to  an  inde- 
terminate and  uncertain  number:  as  when  our  Saviour  bids  his 
disciples  rejoice,  because  their  "  names  are  written  in  heaven," 
Luke  X.  20;  not  as  the  disciples  chosen  to  an  office,  but  as  Chris- 
tians chosen  to  salvation.  So  Christ  is  said  to  "  call  his  sheep 
by  name,"  John  x.  3,  and  "  to  know  his  sheep,"  verse  14;  and 
he  says,  "  Other  sheep  I  have,  which  are  not  of  this  fold  ;  them 
also  I  must  bring,  and  they  shall  hear  my  voice,"  verse  16;  and 
in  another  place,  "  Father,  I  will  that  they  also  whom  thou  hast 
given  me,  be  with  me  where  I  am,  that  they  may  behold  my 
glory,"  John  xvii.  24^  We  read  also  of  "  the  general  assem- 
bly and  church  of  the  first  born,  whose  names  are  written,  or 
enrolled,  in  heaven,"  Heb,  xii.  23;  and,  in  many  places  of  the 
Revelation,  we  are  told  of  persons  whose  names  are,  and  are 
not  '•'  written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life,"  to  show  that  the 
number  of  the  elect  and  reprobate  is  determinate.  Thus  much 
may  serve  to  prove  a  personal  election. 

(2.)  I  shall  now  produce  some  of  those  scriptures  which  assert 


OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION.  83 

an  election  to  salvation,  in  opposition  to  those  who  tell  us  that 
election  refers  only  to  the  external  means  of  salvation. 

I  do  not  remember  that  when  salvation  is  mentioned  in  Scnp- 
tnre,  unless  it  has  some  other  words  accompanying  it,  which 
determine  its  meaning  to  be  so,  it  does  ever  denote  only  the 
external  means  of  salvation ;  except  it  be  in  two  passages, 
where  "salvation  is  said  to  be  of  the  Jews,"  John  iv.  22;  and, 
by  the  fall  of  the  Jews,  "  salvation  is  said  to  come  to  the  Gen- 
tiles," Rom.  xi.  11.  However,  that  there  is  an  election  to  sal- 
vation, distinct  from  an  election  to  outward  means  and  privi- 
leges, may  be  argued, 

[1.]  From  those  forecited  places  which  speak  of  election  to 
faith,  and  sanctification,  and  good  works,  and  obedience,  and  a 
conformity  to  the  image  of  Christ;  for  if  salvation,  even  eternal 
life,  is  in  the  Scripture  declciration,  annexed  to,  and  connected 
with  faith  and  holiness,  then  when  persons  are  said  to  be  chosen 
to  these,  it  must  be  presumed  that  these  are  chosen  to  salvation 
by  these. 

[2.]  This  may  also  be  proved  from  those  scriptures  which 
make  mention  of  a  kingdom,  and  a  glory  "  prepared,  for  certain 
persons,  from  the  foundation  of  the  world."  As  where  our 
Saviour  answers  the  mother  of  Zebedee's  children,  who  request- 
ed of  him,  that  he  would  grant  that  her  two  sons  might  sit,  the 
one  on  his  right  hand,  and  the  other  on  his  left,  in  his  kingdom; 
saying,  "To  sit  on  my  right  hand,  and  on  my  left,  is  not  mine 
to  give ;  but  (it  shall  be  given)  to  them  for  whom  it  is  prepared 
of  my  Father,"  Mat.  xxv.  23.  "  It  is  not  mine  to  give;"  that 
is,  to  every  one,  but  to  those  only,  or  except  to  those  for  whom 
it  is  prepared  of  my  Father;  namely,  by  an  eternal  appointment 
and  predestination:  thus  the  kingdom  is  said  to  be  "prepared 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world,"  Mat.  xxv.  34.  If  therefore 
there  is  a  kingdom  and  glory  prepared  for  some  persons,  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world,  God  must  be  supposed  to  choose 
or  design  some  persons,  from  the  foundation  of  the  world,  to 
possess  and  enjoy  this  kingdom  and  glory;  and  this  is,  no  doubt, 
what  John  intends,  when  he  says,  that  those  who  are  with  God 
are  chosen,  Rev.  xvii.  14. 

[3.]  No  man  can  fairly  deny  that  an  election  to  salvation  is 
intended  by  our  Saviour,  when  he  says  to  his  disciples,  "  I 
speak  not  of  you  all,  I  know  whom  I  have  chosen."  In  an- 
other place  he  says,  "  Have  I  not  chosen  you  twelve,  and  one 
of  you  hath  a  devil!"  In  one  place  Christ  says,  he  had  chosen 
them  twelve ;  in  another  he  plainly  shows,  that  he  had  not 
chosen  them  all,  but  asserts,  I  know  whom  I  have  chosen. 
No  one  will  have  the  front  to  affirm,  that  our  Saviour  in  these 
declarations  contradicts  himself,  and  therefore  there  must  be  a 
sense  in  which  both  the  propositions  are  true ;  therefore  the 
usual  distinction  I  take  to  be  just,  when  Christ  says,  he  had 


84  OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION. 

chosen  them  twelve,  it  must  refer  to  external  privileges,  to 
discipleship ;  and  when  he  says,  of  the  same  twelve,  I  speak 
not  of  you  all,  I  know  whom  I  have  chosen,  his  choosing  here 
must  reter  to  salvation,  even  to  eternal  life.  Judas  was  chosen 
to  the  honour  of  discipleship,  but  he  was  not  chosen  to  salva- 
tion, because  he  betrayed  his  Lord,  and  went  to  his  place  with- 
out repentance.  If  we  were  to  suppose  our  Saviour  to  para- 
phrase on  his  own  words,  he  would  give  the  sense  of  them  in 
language  to  this  purpose:  "Though  one  of  you,  my  disciples, 
is  a  devil,  a  traitor,  and  shall  fall  away  to  destruction,  yet  I 
have  chosen  the  rest  of  you  to  eternal  life,  which  you  shall 
infallibly  obtain." 

[4.]  This  may  be  further  argued,  from  what  the  apostle 
says  to  the  Thessalonians,  about  their  election ;  "  Knowing, 
brethren  beloved,  your  election  of  God,"  1  Thess.  i.  4.  In 
which  words,  by  their  election,  nothing  less  can  be  intended, 
than  an  election  to  salvation,  as  is  apparent  both  from  the  fore- 
going and  following  context :  "  Remembering  without  ceasing 
your  work  of  faith,  and  labour  of  love,  and  patience  of  hope, 
in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  sight  of  God  and  our  Father," 
I  Thess.  i.  3.  "  For  our  gospel  came  not  to  you  in  word  only, 
but  in  power,  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  ill  much  assurance; 
and  ye  became  followers  of  us,  and  of  the  Lord,  having  re- 
ceived the  word  in  much  affliction,  with  joy  of  the  Holy  Ghost; 
so  that  ye  were  ensamples  to  all  that  believe  in  Macedonia 
and  Achaia,"  ver.  5,  6,  7.  Now,  when  the  apostle  brings  in 
these  evidences,  as  the  foundation  of  his  knowing  their  election 
of  God,  he  cannot  hereby  intend  their  election  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  gospel  only,  for  this  he  knew  without  these  evi- 
dences; he  must  therefore  mean  their  election  to  eternal  life, 
which  he  knew  by  their  faith,  love,  patience,  holiness,  and  by 
the  power  of  the  gospel  upon  their  hearts ;  for  "  our  gospel 
came  not  to  you  in  word  only,  but  also  in  power."  Had  it 
come  in  word  only,  it  would  have  been  a  sufficient  proof  of 
their  election  to  the  enjoyment  of  it;  but  when  it  is  said  to  come 
with  power,  this  is  an  evidence  of  a  further  election,  even  to 
salvation. 

[5.]  We  might  also  argue  an  election  of  particular  persons 
to  salvation,  from  that  exhortation  of  Peter  to  the  believing 
strangers:  "Wherefore  the  rather,  brethren,  give  diligence  to 
make  your  calling  and  election  sure."  2  Pet.  i.  10.  Here,  by 
calling  and  election,  the  apostle  cannot  mean  their  calling  and 
election  to  the  gospel,  for  of  this  they  were  sure  before;  nor 
would  their  assurance  of  this  prevent  their  fall,  nor  procure 
that  an  "  entrance  should  be  ministered  to  them  abundantly, 
into  the  everlasting  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,"  which  he  tells  them  their  making  their  calling  and 
election  sure  would  do.     It  may  be  said,  if,  by  election,  be 


OF   PARTICULAR   ELECTION.  85 

meant  the  eternal  purpose  of  God  to  save  them,  why  does  he 
exhort  them  to  make  their  election  sure,  when  it  was  sure 
already?  for  the  "purpose  of  God  according  to  election  shall 
stand."  To  this  it  may  be  replied:  It  was  sure,  indeed,  in  the 
immutable  decree  of  God,  but  it  might  not  be  sure  to  them; 
they  might  not  have  an  assurance  in  their  own  souls  of  their 
election;  and  therefore  the  apostle,  in  order  to  their  establish- 
ment and  comfort,  advises  them  to  make  their  calling  and  elec- 
tion sure  to  themselves,  or  to  make  their  election  certain  by 
their  vocation. 

[6.]  We  have  scriptures  which  positively  assert  an  election 
to  salvation.  Besides  our  text,  which  holds  forth  this  truth, 
in  direct  terms,  we  read  of  the  vessels  of  mercy,  which  God 
had  before  prepared  to  glory,  Rom.  ix.  23,  before  prepared, 
even  in  his  eternal  purpose :  for  if  they  had  prepared  them- 
selves, by  their  faith,  for  glory,  they  Avould  improperly  be  called 
vessels  of  mercy;  nor  would  this  preparing  of  themselves  be 
at  all  agreeable  to  the  meaning  of  the  text,  which  expressly 
says,  that  God  had  before  prepared  them  to  glory.  Again,  we 
are  said  to  be  predestinated  to  an  inheritance ;  in  whom  we 
have  obtained  an  inheritance,  or  a  right  to  an  inheritance, 
"  being  predestinated  thereto,  according  to  the  purpose  of  him, 
who  works  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will."  Eph. 
i.  11,  Now,  what  is  the  inheritance  that  the  apostle  says  they 
were  predestinated  to  ?  No  other  than  the  inheritance  among 
the  saints  in  light;  the  "  inheritance  incorruptible,  undefiled,  and 
that  fades  not  away,  which  is  reserved  in  heaven  for  them," 
1  Peter  i.  4,  the  inheritance  of  the  children  of  God,  and  of 
which  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  earnest.  Now,  this  inheritance,  to 
which  they  were  predestinated,  they  are  said  to  obtain,  because 
they  were  "  sealed  with  the  Holy  Spirit  of  promise,  which  is 
the  earnest  of  our  inheritance,  until  the  redemption  of  the  pur- 
chased possession."  Eph.  i.  13, 14.  Again,  the  apostle  tells  the 
Thessalonians,  that  God  had  not  "  appointed  them  to  wrath,  but 
to  obtain  salvation  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  1  Thess.  v.  9, 
which  appointment  is  no  other  than  God's  election  of  them  to 
obtain  salvation,  according  to  the  explication  of  it  in  our  text, 
where  it  is  said  of  these  same  Thessalonians,  that  God  had, 
"  from  the  beginning,  chosen  them  to  salvation."  Besides  these 
several  texts,  we  read  of  many  that  were  ordained  to  eternal 
life.  Acts  xiii.  48.  This,  I  know,  is  a  text  very  much  contro- 
verted; but,  as  I  have  not  room  to  enter  into  the  litigations  upon 
it,  I  will  take  it  for  granted  that  the  translation  is  just,  and  refer 
those  who  desire  further  satisfaction  to  compare  the  criticisms 
and  explications  of  others. 

•Thus  have  I  laid  before  you  those  scriptures  which  prove  a 
particular  election  to  salvation,  in  refutation  of  their  opinion, 
who  tell  us,  that  election  is  only  of  nations  and  societies,  and 


86  OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION. 

not  of  particular  persons,  and  only  to  the  enjoyment  of  the 
gospel,  church  privileges,  and  the  external  means  of  salvation, 
and  not  to  salvation  itself. 

To  sum  up  this  argument.  Whereas  it  is  suggested,  that  it 
is  not  easy  to  imagine  how  the  apostle  Paul  should  know  who 
were  elected  to  salvation  in  any  church,  without  a  special  reve- 
lation; nay,  that  he  did  not  know  this,  because  he  speaks  of 
some  who  would  fall  away,  and  cautions  all  against  it ;  to 
this  I  would  beg  leave  to  reply,  by  observing,  that  it  is  very 
evident  that  the  apostle  did  speak  of  particular  persons,  as  elect 
to  salvation,  which  certainly  he  would  not  have  done,  had  he 
not  known  them  to  be  such;  that  we  are  not  able  to  prove  that 
he  did  not  certainly  know  whom  God  had  chosen  to  salvation; 
that  he  had  a  spirit  of  discerning,  and  why  might  he  not  know 
the  elect  from  this  spirit  ?  that  God  did  give  him  a  special 
revelation,  as  to  this  matter,  is  not  easy  to  disprove ;  that  he  had 
many  peculiar  marks  given  him  of  their  election,  from  whence 
he  knew  it ;  that  though  he  sometimes  wrote  to  the  churches, 
as  professing  societies  of  Christians,  yet,  at  other  times,  we  find 
him  addressing  himself  to  them  as  persons  elected  to  salvation ; 
that  he  might  write  to  the  churches  in  general,  as  elect,  though 
some  few  of  them,  by  falling  away,  should  appear  to  be  other- 
wise. Though  we  were  to  allow  that  some,  in  the  churches, 
to  whom  the  apostle  wrote,  did  fall  away,  yet  it  will  be  hard 
to  prove  that  they  were  of  the  number  that  he  styled  elect  to 
salvation ;  seeing,  after  his  time,  many  might  be  added  to  the 
churches,  who  might  prove  reprobates.  But,  however,  the 
cautions  and  exhortations  that  the  apostle  gave  to  the  churches, 
are  no  way  inconsistent  with  his  knowing  them  to  be  elect  to 
salvation;  for  though,  as  elect,  they  could  not  miss  of  salvation, 
yet  they  were  to  obtain  it  in  the  use  of  means,  such  as  cautions 
and  directions,  which  made  these  highly  necessary;  nay,  had 
the  apostle  known  any  particular  church  to  be  non-elect,  he 
would  never  have  cautioned  and  advised  it  at  all. 


SERMON  11. 

2  Thessalonians  ii.  13. — We  are  bound  to  give  thanks  always  to  God  for  you, 
brethren,  beloved  of  the  Lord;  because  God  hath,  from  the  beginning,  chosen 
you  to  salvation,  through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit,  and  belief  of  the  truth. 

In  order  to  treat  of  the  doctrine  o( particular  election,  from  this 
text,  I  proposed  to  explain  it,  and  I  gave  the  various  senses  of 
the  word  election,  especially  in  the  book  of  God;  and  laid  down 
the  ditierent  opinions  of  persons  concerning  it.  ]My  second 
head  was  to  prove,  that  God  has  immutably  designed  the  sal- 


OF    PARTICULAR   ELECTION.  87 

ration  of  a  certain  number  of  Adam's  children.  The  truth 
of  this  doctrine  I  argued  from  tlie  divine  perfections,  and  then 
came  to  examine  what  proof  we  have  of  tiiis  doctrine  from  the 
word  of  God:  I  produced  sucli  texts  as  prove  a  personal  elec- 
tion, in  contradistinction  to  a  national  one;  and  then  offered 
such  as  assert  an  election  to  salvation,  in  opposition  to  those 
who  affirm,  that  election  refers  only  to  the  ineans  of  salvation, 
or  to  church  privileges.  There  is  another  thing  I  propose  under 
this  head,  and  to  that  I  shall  proceed: 

(3.)  I  am  now  to  prove  the  certain  salvation  of  a  chosen 
people;  or  that  all  those  whom  God  elected  to  salvation  shall  be 
saved;  and  to  refute  the  notion  of  a  conditional  mutable  election. 

God  did  not  determine  to  save  all  men,  upon  uncertain  con- 
ditions, nor  has  he  altered  his  purpose  as  to  any  that  he  deter- 
mined to  save;  but  all  those  whom  he  elected,  with  a  design  to 
save  them,  shall  believe,  be  holy,  and  obtain  eternal  life.  We 
may  as  well  suppose,  that  any  of  God's  elect  should  be  with- 
out the  necessary  means  of  salvation,  as  imagine  that  any  of 
them  should  miss  of  it  at  last.  If  any  of  God's  chosen  should 
fall  short  of  eternal  life,  there  would  be  no  ditference  between 
them  and  the  reprobate;  especially  if,  as  some  affirm,  the  re- 
probate may  be  saved,  as  well  as  the  elect  fall  away;  but  this 
is  to  confound  both  reason  and  Scripture.  The  elect  shall  be 
saved;  this  I  might  prove,  from  the  wisdom  and  power  of  God; 
for  if  God  has  designed  to  save  any  persons,  then  they  must 
be  saved ;  otherwise  God  must  repent,  and  change  his  mind 
concerning  them,  or  be  overpowered  by  some  superior  agency 
of  theirs;  to  suppose  either  of  which,  is  not  only  to  degrade, 
but  to  deny  the  divine  perfections.  This  might  be  proved  from 
the  decrees  in  general.  If  the  decrees  of  God,  in  general,  are 
absolute  and  immutable,  then  this  of  election  must  be  so;  but 
the  former  proposition  we  have  before  confirmed,  and  the  latter 
is  an  undeniable  conclusion  from  it.  If  election  is  an  absolute 
purpose  of  God  to  save  any,  independent  of  any  conditions  to 
be  performed  by  them,  which  may  render  this  purpose  effectual 
to  their  salvation,  then  it  must  be  unchangeable;  and  if  it  is  an 
unchangeable  purpose  of  God  to  save,  then  all  those  whom  he 
thus  purposed  to  save,  must  necessarily  and  infallibly  be  saved: 
nothing  can  hinder,  prevent,  or  disannul  their  salvation.  This 
may  also  be  argued  from  the  intercession  and  declaration  of 
Christ;  who  thus  said,  while  on  earth,  "  Father,  I  will,  that  they 
also  whom  thou  hast  given  me,  be  with  me  where  I  am,  that 
they  may  behold  my  glory  which  thou  hast  given  me,"  John 
xvii.  24.  "  I  give  my  sheep  eternal  life,  and  they  shall  never 
perish;  neither  shall  any  pluck  them  out  of  my  hand,"  chap.  x. 
28.  Now,  both  these  places  refer  not  only  to  Christ's  disciples, 
that  then  were,  in  particular,  but  to  all  the  elect  of  God,  to  all 
who  shall  afterwards  believe  through  their  word.     This  may 


S3  OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION. 

also  be  proved  from  what  our  Saviour  said  of  the  elect,  that  it 
is  impossible  they  should  be  deceived,  Mat.  xxiv.  24,  i.  e.  so 
far  deceived  and  carried  away,  by  false  Christs,  as  to  miscarry 
of  salvation.  This  might  also  be  strongly  argued,  from  that 
passage  of  the  apostle,  where,  having  spoken  of  the  wicked 
apostasy  of  some,  he  said,  "  Nevertheless,  the  foundation  of 
God  stands  sure,  having  this  seal,  the  Lord  knoweth  them  that 
are  his,"  2  Tim.  ii.  19.  This  truth  stands  with  unshaken  firm- 
ness on  that  text,  where  God,  who  cannot  lie,  is  said  to  prom- 
ise eternal  life  to  his  elect,  before  the  world  began.  Tit.  i.  1,  2. 
Those  places  also  would  yield  no  small  proof  in  the  case,  where 
it  is  said,  that  Christ's  people  shall  be  willing,  in  the  day  of 
his  power;  and  that  all  that  the  Father  gave  to  him,  shall 
come  to  him:  for  that  by  Christ's  people,  and  those  who  were 
given  to  him,,  the  elect,  and  not  actual  believers,  must  be  in- 
tended, is  plain,  because  they  are  called  Christ's  people,  and  are 
said  to  be  given  to  him,  before  they  are  willing,  and  before  they 
come  to  him ;  but  they  shall  be  willing,  and  they  shall  come  to 
him.  If  to  what  has  been  offered,  were  added  all  those  texts 
of  Scripture  where  mention  is  made  of  the  names  of  the  elect 
being  n-ritten  in  heaven,  and  in  the  book  of  life;  they  would 
help  abundantly  to  confirm  the  truth  under  consideration,  viz. 
that  all  the  elect  shall  be  saved.  But  I  pass  these  by,  though 
they  might  have  been  more  largely  insisted  on,  to  good  advan- 
tage; and  I  proceed  to  take  notice  of  those  texts,  where  both 
the  means  and  end  are  expressly  attached  to,  and  connected 
with  the  decree. 

(1.)  I  would  mention  some  scriptures  where  the  means  are 
connected  with  the  decree.  Here  I  would  only  offer  three; 
each  of  which  assures  us,  that  there  is  an  indissoluble  conjunc- 
tion between  the  means  of  salvation,  and  election  to  salvation 
by  those  means.  While  Paul  was  preaching  at  Antioch,  some 
contradicted  and  blasphemed  ;  others  received  his  word  with 
gladness.  Now  the  reason  of  this,  as  assigned  by  the  historian, 
is  the  election  of  God ;  "  As  many  as  were  ordained  to  eternal 
life,  believed,"  Acts  xiii.  48,  whereby  we  are  told,  that  all  those 
who  then  believed,  were  ordained  of  God  to  eternal  life ;  and 
therefore  they  believed,  because  they  were  so  ordained.  Some, 
indeed,  for  the  word  ordained,  would  have  disposed  to  be  set 
down;  but  I  see  no  reason  to  vary  from  our  translation,  be- 
cause the  original  word  generally  conveys  to  us  the  same  idea 
that  we  have  by  the  word  ordained,  viz.  some  purpose  of  an- 
other concerning  us,  and  not  any  inward  disposition  of  our  own: 
or  if  we  translate  it  disposed,  it  will  not  follow  that  it  was  a 
disposition  of  their  own;  but  they  were  disposed,  i.  e.  by  the 
decree  and  providence  of  God,  or  set  apart  for  eternal  life,  and 
so  God  gave  them  faith,  as  the  necessary  means  of  their  salva- 
tion.    I  cannot  take  the  word  to  intend  any  internal  disposition 


OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION.  SO 

of  our  own,  because,  whatever  inclination  men  may  have  to 
happiness,  abstractly  considered,  I  cannot  see  how  persons,  who 
are  represented  in  Scripture  as  "  enmity  against  God,"  Rom. 
viii.  7,  and  as  saying  to  the  Almiglity,  "  Depart  from  us,  we  de- 
sire not  the  knowledge  of  thy  ways,"  Job.  xxi.  15,  can  be  sup- 
posed of  themselves  to  have  any  inward  inclination  to  eternal 
life,  as  it  consists  in  the  enjoyment  of  God,  and  can  no  other- 
wise be  obtained,  than  by  faith  and  holiness.  Besides,  if  this 
was  the  sense  of  the  word,  then  either  their  faith,  which  follow- 
ed this  their  disposition,  was  of  their  own  effecting,  or  of  the 
operation  of  God;  if  it  was  of  their  own  effecting,  then  in  vain, 
do  the  Scriptures  tell  us,  that  "  faith  is  the  gift  of  God,"  Eph. 
ii.  8,  and  the  "  fruit  of  the  Spirit,"  Gal.  v,  22:  if  it  was  of  the 
operation  of  God,  that  is,  if  it  was  given  of  God  to  them  to  be- 
lieve, then  this  was  either  the  consequence  of  his  ordination,  or 
the  result  of  their  disposition ;  if  the  former,  this  militates 
against  the  sense  of  the  word,  as  before  given  from  some;  if  the 
latter,  then  the  operations  of  God  must  depend  on  our  previous 
dispositions,  and  God  would  be  obliged  to  give  faith  to  all  who 
find  in  themselves  a  disposition  to  eternal  life,  and  so  he  would 
be  despoiled  of  the  freeness  of  his  gifts.  In  fine,  I  do  not  appre- 
hend how  the  word  can  denote  a  present  disposition,  because, 
if  so,  it  might  equally  be  said  of  all  that  heard  the  apostle,  as 
well  as  of  those  that  believed,  for  all  men  are  disposed  to  hap- 
piness; and  then  the  original  word  should  have  been  in  the 
present,  whereas  it  is  in  the  j^reter perfect  tense,  and  signifies 
something  done  before,  and  not  a  present  disposition. 

Another  scripture  to  our  purpose  is  this :  "  Blessed  be  the 
God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  hath  blessed  us 
with  all  spiritual  blessings,  in  heavenly  places,  in  Christ:  accord- 
ing as  he  has  chosen  us  in  him,  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  that  we  should  be  holy  and  without  blame  before  him, 
in  love,"  Eph.  i.  3,  4.  God  chose  them  that  they  might  be 
holy;  and,  that  his  purpose  might  not  be  frustrated,  he  blessed 
them  with  all  spiritual  blessings,  even  those  blessings  which 
were  necessary  to  make  them  holy,  and  without  blame  before 
him  in  love.  A  little  after,  the  apostle,  speaking  of  himself, 
and  the  believing  Ephesians,  says,  "  We  are  God's  workman- 
ship, created  in  Christ  Jesus  to  good  works,  which  God  has 
before  ordained,  that  we  should  walk  in  them."  Eph.  ii.  10. 
From  these  words  it  is  evident  that  their  new  creation  or  regen- 
eration was  the  result  of  a  divine  decree;  they  were  created  to 
good  works,  because  God  had  before  ordained  them  to  walk  in 
them.  Thus  we  see  how  the  means  of  salvation  are  connected 
with  and  confined  to  election. 

[2.]  I  would  now  take  notice  of  those  scriptures  that  speak 
of  the  elect's  obtaining  both  the  e;?.r/andthe  means.  And  the 
first  I  would  mention  is  that  where  the  apostle  gives  us  the 

12 


90  OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION. 

golden  and  indissoluble  chain  of  grace  :  "  Moreover,  whom  he 
did  predestinate,  them  he  also  called;  and  whom  he  called, 
them  he  also  justified;  and  whom  he  justified,  them  he  also 
glorified."  Let  us  take  these  words  which  way  we  will,  read 
them  backwards  or  forwards,  they  tell  us  that  election  and  sal- 
vation, both  initial  and  final,  are  undivided  and  inseparably 
united  together.  Should  we  ask.  Who  are  they  that  are  pre- 
destinated ?  The  text  tells  us,  those,  and  only  those,  who  are 
eff'ectually  called,  justified,  and  glorified.  Should  it  be  further 
asked.  Who  are  they  that  are  glorified?  The  answer  must  be, 
Those  who  are  justified  and  called.  And  who  are  those? 
Those  whom  God  did  predestinate.  Moreover,  tvhom  he  did 
predestinate.  Add  to  this  what  the  apostle  says  of  Israel: 
"  Israel  hath  not  obtained  that  which  he  seeketh  for ;  but  the 
election  hath  obtained  it,  and  the  rest  were  blinded,"  Rom.  xi.  7. 
What  was  it  that  Israel  sought  after?  Nothing  less  than 
righteousness  and  life,  justification  and  salvation.  Now,  though 
Israel,  as  a  body  or  nation,  did  not  obtain  this  which  he  sought 
after,  yet  the  election,  or  the  elected  among  Israel,  did,  I  would 
only  further  mention  that  of  the  apostle:  "Who  hath  saved  us, 
and  called  us  with  an  holy  calling;"  and  this,  "not  according 
to  our  works,  but  according  to  his  own  purpose  and  grace, 
which  was  given  us  in  Christ  Jesus  before  the  world  began," 
2  Tim.  i.  9.  If  this  text  stands  in  need  of  any  explication,  you 
have  it  in  these  words:  "After  that  the  kindness  and  love  of 
God  our  Saviour  toward  man  appeared;  not  by  works  of 
righteousness  which  we  have  done,  but  according  to  his  mercy 
he  saved  us,  by  the  washing  of  regeneration,  and  renewing  of 
the  Holy  Ghost ;  which  he  shed  on  us  abundantly,  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour;  that,  being  justified  by  his  grace,  we 
should  be  made  heirs  according  to  the  hope  of  eternal  life," 
Tit.  iii.  4—7. 

Thus  have  I  endeavoured,  in  the  plainest,  fullest,  and  briefest 
way  I  could,  to  vindicate  and  maintain  the  immutable  purpose 
of  God  to  save  a  determinate  number  of  fallen  Adam's  poste- 
rity. The  arguments  from  the  divine  perfections  will  appear, 
I  hope, to  be  founded  on  the  highest  reason;  and  the  scriptures, 
ranged  in  their  order,  are,  I  think,  pertinent  and  strong;  each 
one  defensible  in  its  reference  to  the  particular  topic  it  is  brought 
under:  and,  all  taken  together,  contain  an  invincible  argument 
to  prove  the  doctrine  of  absolute  particular  election.  I  have 
endeavoured  to  avoid,  as  much  as  I  could,  the  repeating  of  the 
same  text  over  again;  but,  according  to  the  diff"erent  turn  of  the 
argument  it  was  sometimes  unavoidable. 

I  could  produce  many  authorities  to  confirm  this  doctrine,  but 
I  choose  to  have  it  rest  on  Scripture,  and  not  on  human  testi- 
monies ;  though  it  were  to  be  wished  that  many  of  those  who 
have  ex  animo,  and  in  open  court,  subscribed  to  the  seventeenth 


OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION.  91 

Article*  of  tlie  Church  of  England,  did  pay  a  more  decent  and 
becoming  regard  to  the  doctrine  evidently  contained  in  it,  and 
not  deny,  misrepresent,  ridicule,  and  revile  it,  as  they  do. 

III.  I  am  now  to  consider  the  arguments  and  objections 
brought  against  the  doctrine  of  particular  election,  as  it  has 
been  stated  and  proved. 

Having,  as  I  hope,  so  abundantly  confirmed  the  truth  of  the 
doctrine,  there  is  less  need  for  me  to  take  up  much  room  in 
answering  the  objections  brought  against  it.  When  a  truth  is 
once  well  established,  the  objections  brought  against  it  are  the 
less  to  be  regarded;  but  where  the  positive  proof  is  weak,  ob- 
jections become  strong  arguments.  Therefore,  though  what 
has  already  been  offered  may  be  thought  sufficient  to  drive  all 
cavils  before  it ;  yet,  to  prevent  any  staggerings  in  our  minds, 
and  to  establish  our  faith  more  firmly  in  this  great  article,  it 
cannot  be  amiss  for  me  to  lay  down,  and  to  canvass  particularly, 
some  of  the  objections  that  are  brought  by  our  opponents 
against  it.  And  here  I  might  take  notice  of  those  objections 
that  are  brought  against  our  doctrine,  which  are  founded  upon 
the  universality  of  Christ's  death,  the  nature  and  sufficiency  of 
free-will  to  salvation,  and  the  supposed  defectibility  of  the 
saints.  But  as  the  opinions  from  which  such  objections  are 
drawn,  are  themselves  false  and  unsound,  which  it  is  the  pro- 
vince of  some  of  my  brethren  to  prove,  I  shall  not  attempt  to 
interfere  with  those  who  are  to  come  after  me,  but  shall  leave 
the  objections  to  fall  to  the  ground,  as  they  necessarily  will, 
when  the  doctrines  of  particular  redemption,  of  efficacious  and 
invincible  grace,  and  of  the  infallible  perseverance  of  the  saints 
are  established  in  their  order.  I  might  also  take  notice  of  the 
objection  made  against  our  doctrine,  that  it  has  a  tendency  to 
drive  persons  into  despair ;  but  as  the  same  objection  will  come 
Avith  equal  force  against  the  doctrine  taught  by  our  opponents, 
I  shall  not  spend  time  particularly  to  refute  it;  but  whether  an 
opinion  that  does  not  secure  the  salvation  of  one  single  person, 
nay,  which  makes  the  salvation  of  each  man  barely  possible, 
as  depending  on  the  feeble  and  fickle  will  of  man,  has  not  a 
greater  tendency  to  drive  persons  into  despair,  than  a  doctrine 
that  ascertains  the  salvation  of  millions,  upon  the  immutable 
decree  of  God,  the  impartial  reasoner  will  easily  determine. 

*  Of  Predestination  and  Election,  vvliicli  runs  tlius : — "  Predestination  to  life 
is  the  eternal  purpose  of  God,  whereby,  before  the  foundations  of  tlie  tvorld  were 
laid,  he  hath  constantly  decreed,  by  his  counsel  secret  to  us,  to  deliver,  from  curse 
and  damnation,  those  whom  he  hath  cliosen  in  Christ  out  of  mankind,  to  bring 
tliem,  by  Christ,  to  everlasting  salvation.  Wherefore  they  wliich  be  endued  with 
so  excellent  a  benefit  of  God,  be  called  according  to  God's  purpose  by  his  Spirit 
working  in  due  season,  they,  through  grace,  obey  the  calling,  they  be  justified 
freely,  they  be  made  sons  of  God  by  adoption,  they  be  made  lilie  tlie  image  of  his 
only  begotten  Son  Jesus  Christ,  they  walk  religiously  in  good  works,  and,  at 
length,  by  God's  mercy,  they  attain  to  everlasting  felicity." 


92 


ON    PARTICULAR   ELECTION. 


The  main  objections  that  are  brought  against  our  doctrine,  and 
which  I  shall  apply  myself  to  answer,  are  such  as  are  formed 
from  the  general  love  and  good-will  of  God  to  mankind ;  from 
the  general  commands,  exhortations,  wishes,  and  expostulations 
of  God  with  men;  from  its  making  ordinances  useless  ;  and  the 
pretences,  that  it  weakens  men's  regard  to  good  works,  and  en- 
courages licentiousness;  that  it  has  a  natural  tendency  to  pre- 
vent endeavours  after  salvation;  and  that  it  is  contrary  to  the 
justice  and  mercy  of  God. 

1.  It  is  objected  to  the  doctrine  of  absolute  and  particular 
election,  that  it  militates  against  the  general  love  and  good-will 
of  God  to  mankind,  so  frequently  expressed  in  the  sacred 
Scriptures ;  "  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only 
begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him,  should  not 
perish,  but  have  everlasting  hfe."  John  iii.  16,  "God  will 
have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  to  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth,"  1  Tim.  ii.  4.  Now,  how  can  it,  will  some  say,  consist 
with  these  general  declarations  of  the  love  and  good-will  of 
God  to  men,  to  assert  that  he  has  chosen  only  some  of  this 
world,  and  these  all  to  salvation?  To  this  objection,  I  would 
thus  reply.  If,  in  fact,  God  has  chosen  some  only  of  mankind 
to  salvation,  as  has  been  proved,  it  is  weak  and  vain  to  object 
that  this  is  contrary  to  his  general  declarations  of  love  and 
good-will  to  men;  for  we  are  sure,  as  the  Scriptures  are  uniform, 
that  there  must  be  a  harmony  and  consistency  between  the 
doctrine  and  these  declarations,  though  we,  it  may  be,  are  not 
able  fully  to  discern  it.  It  is  beyond  all  contradiction,  that  the 
terms  world  and  all,  are  frequently,  in  Scripture,  taken  in  a 
limited  sense,  and  cannot  admit  of  an  universal  meaning;  and, 
whenever  they  are  connected  with  salvation,  they  are  always, 
I  think,  taken  in  a  restrained  sense.  The  term  ivorld,  in  the 
forecited  place,  cannot  be  taken  in  an  universal  sense,  because 
God  did  not  so  love  the  angels;  nor  did  he  so  love  every  indi- 
vidual man  and  woman,  as  to  give  his  only  begotten  Son  for 
them :  if  God  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up 
for  all  mankind,  how  comes  it  about  that  he  does  not  freely 
bestow  salvation  on  all  mankind  ?  for  the  apostle  Paul  says, 
"  He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for  us 
all,  how  shall  he  not  with  him  also  freely  give  us  all  things," 
whereby  he  plainly  declared,  that  God  will  certainly  bestow 
all  saving  blessings  on  those  for  whom  he  gave  his  Son.  So 
when  God  says,  "  he  will  have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  to 
come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,"  the  term  all  cannot  be 
taken  in  an  universal  latitude,  because  all  men  are  not  actually 
saved ;  and  many  do  not  come  to  that  knowledge  of  the  truth 
whereby  they  may  be  saved,  being  destitute  of  the  gospel,  the 
means  of  salvation.  If  God  will  have  men  to  be  saved,  how 
comes  it  about  that  all  are  not  saved,  since  God  does  whatever 


OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION.  93 

he  will?  To  say  that  God  wills  all  men  universally  to  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  and  be  saved,  when  he  does  not 
send  the  means  of  knowledge  and  salvation  to  millions,  is  to 
suppose  that  God  wills  an  impossibility:  "I  am,"  says  Christ, 
"  the  way,  and  the  truth,  and  the  life ;  no  man  cometh  to  the 
Father  but  by  me,"  John  xiv.  6.  "  Neither  is  there  salvation 
in  any  other;  for  there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given 
among  men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved,"  Acts  iv.  12,  besides 
Jesus  Christ.  If  the  terms  world  and  all,  are  to  be  taken  in 
an  universal  meaning,  then  God  would  be  said  to  love  all  the 
world,  so  as  to  give  his  Son  for  them,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
not  so  to  love  them,  as  to  give  them  salvation  by  him,  which  to 
me  appears  absurd;  nay,  according  to  this,  God  would  love  and 
will  the  salvation  of  unbelievers,  as  well  as  of  believers,  which 
would  be  to  love  and  hate  the  same  persons,  and  to  will  both 
their  damnation  and  salvation  at  the  same  time. 

When  therefore  it  is  said,  that  God  so  loved  the  world,  &c. 
by  the  term  world  we  must  either  understand  the  human  race, 
in  opposition  to  the  fallen  angels,  whom  God  did  not  so  love 
as  to  give  his  Son  for  them,  or  the  Gentile  world,  in  contradis- 
tinction from  the  Jews;  in  which  sense,  the  evangelist  John 
frequently  makes  use  of  the  term,  both  in  his  gospel  and  epis- 
tles; or  by  it  we  may  understand  the  world  of  the  elect  who 
shall  believe  in  him,  and  be  saved  by  him.  And  thus  the 
phrase,  Whosoever  believes  in  him,  may  be  considered  as  exe- 
getical  of  the  means  whereby  those  whom  God  loved,  and  for 
whom  he  gave  his  Son,  shall  have  everlasting  life,  even  by 
faith  in  Christ.  When  it  is  said,  God  will  have  all  men  to  be 
saved,  we  must  either  understand  the  term  ivill,  not  of  his 
decreeing,  but  approving  will,  signifying  how  agreeable  the 
conversion  and  salvation  of  sinners  is  to  him  and  that  he  is 
well  pleased  with  all  that  are  saved ;  or  if  we  understand  it  of 
the  effective  will  and  purpose  of  God,  by  all  men,  we  must 
either  mean  men  of  all  nations,  people,  and  languages,  who  are 
said  to  be  "  redeemed  to  God  by  Christ's  blood,"  Rev.  v.  9,  or 
men  of  all  relations,  ranks,  and  conditions,  which  is  the  plain 
meaning  that  the  context  leads  to ;  or  otherwise  we  are  neces- 
sarily driven  into  this  scandalous  absurdity,  that  God  is  disap- 
pointed of  his  will,  as  to  the  salvation  of  a  great  many:  for 
nothing  is  more  certain  than  this,  that  all  men,  in  fact,  are  not 
saved. 

2.  I  come  now  to  consider  the  objection  against  particular 
election,  which  is  taken  from  the  general  commands,  exhorta- 
tions, ivishes,  and  expostulations  of  God.  It  may  be  said,  if 
God  has  designed  to  save  some  only,  and  has  determined  not 
to  give  his  grace  to  many,  whereby  they  may  believe,  repent, 
and  be  obedient,  how  comes  it  about  that  he  should,  in  his 
word,  command  all  men  to  believe,  repent,  and  be  obedient  to 


94  OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION. 

his  laws,  with  promises  of  life  to  them  who  conform,  and 
threatenings  of  death  to  those  who  continue  disobedient ;  that 
he  should  exhort  all  men  to  repent  and  turn  to  him,  to  come 
to  him,  to  believe,  and  to  be  converted;  that  he  should  wish  as 
he  does,  "  0  that  there  were  such  a  heart  in  them,  that  they 
would  fear  me,  and  keep  all  my  commandments  always!  0 
that  my  people  had  hearkened  to  me,  and  Israel  had  walked 
in  my  ways!"  that  he  should  expostulate  as  he  does;  "Why 
will  ye  die,  0  house  of  Israel?  0  Jerusalem,  wilt  thou  not  be 
made  clean?  When  shall  it  once  be?  How  long  shall  thy 
vain  thoughts  lodge  within  thee?  0  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem, 
how  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  together,  as  a 
hen  gathereth  her  chickens  under  her  wings,  but  ye  would 
not:  Ye  will  not  come  to  me  that  ye  may  have  life,"  1  John 
iii.  23.  We  have  the  same  language  in  almost  innumerable 
other  places  of  Scripture.  Now,  to  what  end,  may  it  be  said, 
are  all  these  commands,  exhortations,  wishes,  expostulations  ? 
Is  not  this  for  God  to  delude  his  creatures?  Is  it  not  incon- 
sistent with  the  divine  sincerity,  for  God  to  make  these  gene- 
ral and  solemn  declarations,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  deter- 
mine, from  eternity,  that  many  of  those  to  whom  these  decla- 
rations are  made,  shall  not  believe,  repent,  be  obedient,  and  be 
saved  ? 

To  this  objection,  which  I  have  endeavoured  to  set  in  the 
clearest  and  the  strongest  light,  that  the  objectors  themselves 
can  desire,  I  would  reply  in  general :  That  these,  and  such  like 
passages  of  Scripture,  do  not  at  all  tell  us  what  God  designs  to 
do  for  us,  and  with  us,  but  only  inform  us  what  is  our  duty, 
what  God  requires  of  his  reasonable  creatures,  what  is  agreea- 
ble to  his  revealed  will ;  that  faith,  repentance,  and  obedience, 
are  things  which  he  approves  of,  and  is  delighted  with;  that 
salvation  is  consequent  upon,  and  connected  with  faith  and 
holiness,  and  that  the  effect  and  consequence  of  unbelief,  im- 
penitence, and  disobedience,  will  be  everlasting  destruction. 
But  to  be  more  particular. 

(1.)  As  to  the  general  coTumands  and  exhortations,  I  would 
reply :  That  many  of  the  commands  of  Scripture  refer  only  to 
external  acts  of  reformation,  which  reasonable  creatures  may 
perform,  even  though  God  denies  them  that  grace,  which  is 
necessary  to  salvation.  Men's  being  non-elect,  does  not  pre- 
vent their  acting  as  men,  and  performing  many  external  duties, 
which  God  requires;  besides,  many  commands  are  directed  to 
those  to  whom  God  had  already  given  his  grace;  and,  in  many 
places  of  Scripture,  the  promises  and  threatenings  refer  only  to 
temporal  rewards  and  punishments;  but  we  will  allow  that 
God  does  command  all  men  to  believe,  repent,  and  be  obedient 
to  him.  It  must  also,  on  the  other  hand,  be  granted,  that  no 
man  has  power  in  himself  savingly  to  believe,  repent,  and 


OF  PARTTCULAU  ELECTION.  95 

obey;  for  if  these  things  are  of  our  own  operation,  they  could 
not  be  called  the  gifts  of  God,  nor  would  God  be  said  to  work 
in  us  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  own  good  pleasure,  nor  should 
we  have  the  several  promises  in  the  Scriptures,  that  God  will 
renew  and  convert  us;  nor  need  we  pray  to  God  for  his  grace, 
that  we  may  believe  and  be  converted;  nor  are  we  obliged  to 
render  thanks  to  God,  that  we  believe  and  are  obedient ,  nor 
have  we  any  just  reason  to  ascribe  the  glory  of  our  faith  and 
repentance  to  God.  No  one  will  presume  to  assert  that  all  men 
believe,  repent,  and  are  obedient,  notwithstanding  the  general 
commands  and  exhortations  of  God,  backed  with  the  promises 
of  life,  and  threatenings  of  death.  If  therefore  God  does  design 
that  all  those  to  whom  his  commands  and  exhortations  are 
made  known,  should  comply  with  them,  how  comes  it  about 
that  so  many,  in  fact,  do  not  do  it?  Should  it  be  said,  this  is 
owing  to  the  perverse  will  of  man;  to  this  we  would  reply, 
that  the  perverseness  of  will  is  the  same  in  the  elect,  as  in  the 
reprobate;  and  if  the  perverseness  of  man's  will  could  hinder 
the  purpose  of  God  from  taking  effect,  then  none  of  God's  elect 
might  believe  and  be  saved;  but  all  the  elect  shall  believe, 
repent,  be  holy,  and  be  saved,  as  we  have  before  proved.  But 
further,  this  is  to  suppose  that  God  has  made  a  creature  that 
he  cannot  manage  and  govern,  and  that  his  determinations  and 
designs  are  to  be  subjected  to  the  will  of  man ;  so  that  if  man 
will,  they  shall  be  accomplished;  but  if  man  opposes  them, 
almighty  power  itself  cannot  bring  them  to  effect.  Wherefore, 
upon  the  whole,  it  is  very  plain  and  evident,  that  the  general 
commands  and  exhortations  to  believe  and  repent,  do  not 
oppose  the  doctrine  of  particular  election,  or  the  purpose  of 
God  to  give  faith,  &c.  to  some  only ;  nor  can  we  from  them 
form  an  argument,  or  draw  a  just  conclusion,  that  God  does 
design  that  all  men  universally  should  believe  and  repent,  be- 
cause, in  fact,  all  do  not.  But  though  God  does  not  determine 
to  give  saving  grace  to  all  those  to  whom  his  commands  and 
exhortations  are  made  known,  yet  they  are  not,  as  some  may 
suggest,  vain  and  useless,  which  will  appear  from  the  following 
considerations. 

God's  commands  do  not  tell  us  what  God  will  do  for  us,  but 
they  inform  us  what  we  ought  to  do  for  him.  As  they  are  not 
the  measure  of  our  power,  so  neither  are  they  the  rule  of  God's 
decrees;  for  if  so,  God's  commands  would  not  be  a  directory 
to  us,  to  show  us  what  we  ought  to  do;  but  they  would  rather 
be  a  law  to  God  himself,  telling  him  what  he  must  do:  he 
eould  not  be  said  to  command  us,  but  rather  to  command  him- 
self God  is  not  obliged  to  bestow  his  saving  grace  on  any,  or 
to  restore  to  any  man  the  power  of  obeying  his  precepts,  which 
he  once  had,  but  lost;  herein  he  acts  according  to  his  own 
sovereign  will,  and  communicates  his  saving  grace  to  whom  he 


96  OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION. 

pleases;  and  these  are  only  his  elect,  or  those  to  whom  from 
eternity  he  designed  to  give  it.  God,  in  giving  his  grace,  and 
making  his  elect  obedient  to  his  calls  and  commands,  does  gene- 
rally make  use  of  the  promises  and  threatenings  of  his  word, 
as  suited  to  work  upon  their  hopes  and  fears.  Though  God 
determines  to  make  only  some  obedient  to  his  commands,  and 
to  leave  others  in  their  natural  enmity  and  rebellion;  yet  it  is 
highly  proper  and  convenient,  that  even  the  wicked  should 
know  their  duty,  that  their  mouths  may  be  stopped,  and  that 
they  may  have  no  reason  to  complain  that  God  did  not  inform 
them  what  it  was  he  required  of  them.  When  God  commands 
all  men  to  believe  and  repent,  &c.,  it  is  in  order  to  convince 
men  of  their  weakness  and  inability,  to  excite  his  chosen  peo- 
ple to  pray  to  him  for  his  grace  and  Spirit,  and  to  lead  them 
to  Christ,  who  alone  can  give  them  faith  and  repentance,  and 
thoroughly  furnish  them  for  every  good  work.  No  man  can 
prove,  and  therefore  no  man  ought  to  assert,  that  he  is  a  non- 
elect  person,  and  shall  not  be  saved;  or  that  God  has  determined 
not  to  give  him  grace  to  be  obedient  to  his  commands;  to  pre- 
vent therefore  any  such  rash  and  despairing  assertions,  the 
command  is  promiscuous  to  believe;  and  we  are  told,  he  that 
believes  shall  be  saved.  God,  in  commanding  men,  does  not 
consider  them  under  the  distinctive  characters  of  elect  or  repro- 
bate; he  does  not  declare  what  his  secret  will  towards  them  is, 
but  considers  them  as  his  reasonable  creatures,  bound  in  duty 
to  be  obedient  to  him.  Though  God  has,  in  his  eternal  decrees, 
made  a  manifest  difference  between  some  and  others;  yet  in  his 
commands  he  has  made  no  distinction. 

Thus  much  may  serve  in  answer  to  the  objection  against  our 
doctrine,  taken  from  the  general  commands  and  exhortations  of 
God  to  believe,  repent,  and  be  obedient,  with  the  promises  and 
threatenings  annexed  thereunto. 

(2.)  I  come  now  to  consider  the  objection  drawn  from  the 
wishes  and  expostnlations  of  God,  as  before  laid  down.  To 
which  I  would  reply,  that  many  of  those  things  which  God 
expostulates  with  men  about,  are  what  they  had  in  their  power 
to  do,  or  avoid ;  as  when  he  refers  to  external  acts  of  reforma- 
tion, and  to  temporary  judgments.  God's  expostulations  are 
generally  with  his  own  people,  and  do  not  refer  to  all  men  uni- 
versally. God  cannot,  properly  speaking,  be  said  to  wish  any 
thing,  because  this  would  argue  great  weakness  and  imperfec- 
tion in  him.  To  suppose  God  to  wish  any  thing  to  be  done, 
which  it  was  in  his  own  power  to  eflect,  is  to  charge  him  with 
egregious  folly.  When  God  therefore,  speaking  after  the  man- 
ner of  men,  is  said,  any  where  in  his  word,  to  wish  that  men 
would  convert  themselves,  turn  to  him,  and  be  obedient,  we  must 
consider  such  modes  of  speaking  as  only  pathetic  speeches,  de- 
signed to  convince  God's  elect  of  the  evil  of  their  ways,  and  to 


OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION.  97 

press  on  them  the  observance  of  their  duty  to  him.  It  is  to 
show  them  their  wickedness  and  ingratitude,  the  justice  and 
equity  of  God's  expectations  and  demands,  and  to  excite  them, 
by  the  most  moving  expressions,  to  repentance  and  reforma- 
tion. God  makes  use  of  expostulations  and  wishes,  as  well  as 
exhortations  and  commands,  as  the  means  whereby  he  will 
convey  his  saving  grace  to  the  hearts  of  all  his  chosen  ones. 
If  by  the  wishes  of  God  we  are  to  understand  his  purposes  and 
designs,  that  all  men  believe  and  repent,  and  be  obedient, 
whence  is  it,  that  he  who  hath  the  hearts  of  all  men  in  his  hands, 
*■'  and  turns  them  as  the  rivers  of  water,  whhhersoever  he  will," 
Prov.  xxi.  1,  does  not  actually  make  all  men  obedient,  and  that 
there  are  such  vast  numbers  who  are  unbelieving  and  impe- 
nitent ? 

If  it  is  said,  that  it  is  for  God  to  delude  men,  and  to  act  incon- 
sistently with  sincerity,  to  exhort  and  command  all  men  to  re- 
pent, and  to  expostulate,  as  he  does  with  them,  about  their  im- 
penitence and  disobedience,  when  he  has  from  eternity  deter- 
mined to  deny  his  grace  to  a  great  many,  without  which  they 
cannot  believe,  repent,  or  yield  obedience  to  him ;  to  this  I 
would  reply,  that  it  is  very  evident  that  these  things  are  fact, 
viz.  that  God  does  thus  command,  and  has  thus  determined. 

It  must  be  owned  to  be  a  very  difficult  thing  to  reconcile 
general  declarations,  and  particular  determinations  to  one  an- 
other. It  is  vile  for  poor  short-sighted  creatures,  because  they 
cannot  account  for  all  God's  words  and  works,  to  charge  him 
with  a  want  of  sincerity,  and  with  a  design  to  mock  and  delude 
his  creatures:  but  if  there  is  anything  in  the  suggestion  it  will 
be  as  strong  an  objection  against  the  foreknowledge  of  God,  as 
against  his  decrees.  Our  opponents  allow  that  God  foresees  the 
final  impenitence,  and  obstinate  disobedience  of  miUions ;  and 
yet,  at  the  same  time,  he  enjoins  that  the  gospel  and  the  means  of 
salvation  be  published  to  them,  as  if  they  were  all  to  be  saved. 
Now,  why  does  God  exhort  and  expostulate  with  those  who 
were  foreknown  to  be  refusers  and  despisers  of  them?  Accord- 
ing to  their  way  of  charging  others,  is  this  to  act  sincerely  ?  Is 
it  not  rather  feigning  and  dissembling?  So  that  this  objection, 
if  it  has  any  weight  in  it,  carries  the  matter  further  than  the 
objectors  will  care  to  allow,  and  recoils,  v/ith  a  strong  force, 
upon  their  own  assertions. 

3.  It  is  objected  against  our  doctrine,  that  it  makes  ordi- 
nances  vain  and  tiseless  ;  for  if  God  has  absolutely,  from  eter 
nity,  determined  the  salvation  of  a  particular  number  of  mankind 
only,  to  what  purpose  are  ordinances  instituted?  The  elect 
may  be  saved  without  them,  and  the  reprobate  cannot  be  saved 
by  them.     To  this  I  reply, 

(1.)  Ordinances  are  not  essential  Xo  salvation:  if  they  were, 
then  all  who  attend  them  would  be  saved}  and  such  as  had  not 

13 


98  OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION. 

the  opportunity  of  so  doing,  would  infallibly  be  lost:  but  no  one 
will  assert  that  a  bare  attendance  on  ordinances  will  insure  sal- 
vation; and  we  dare  not  affirm  that  all  who  have  not  the  oppor- 
tunity of  attending  ordinances  will  be  damned.  Faith  in  Jesus 
Christ  is  essential  to  salvation,  because  the  Scriptures  tell  us, 
that  "  he  who  believes  shall  be  saved ;  but  he  who  believes  not, 
shall  be  damned."  Mark  xvi.  16.  But  the  Scriptures  have  no 
where,  as  I  remember,  asserted,  that  he  who  attends  ordinances 
shall  be  saved,  but  he  who  does  not  attend  them  shall  be  con- 
demned. Ordinances  are  the  usual  means  of  salvation,  but  not 
essential  to  it.  God  has  obliged  us,  in  a  way  of  duty,  to  attend 
them;  and  has,  for  our  encouragement,  promised  to  own  them 
for  good  to  his  people:  but  he  has  not  obliged  himself  by  them, 
or  confined  the  communications  of  his  grace  to  them.  This  is 
evident  from  various  instances  of  conversion,  where  ordinances 
have  not  been  made  use  of. 

(2.)  Because  the  gospel  is  preached  to  all  men  where  its 
sound  has  reached,  it  will  not  from  hence  follow  that  all  may  or 
will  be  converted  by  it.  In  the  apostle's  time  some  believed 
it,  and  some  gainsaid  and  blasphemed.  Just  so  it  is  in  our 
day;  many  are  called,  but  few  appear  to  be  chosen,  because 
few  believe:  the  gospel  is  proclaimed  to  all,  not  that  all,  but 
that  some  may  be  saved. 

(3.)  The  gospel  is  preached  to  all,  because  some  of  all  ranka 
and  characters  are  to  be  brought  home  to  Christ  by  it;  and 
because  ministers  are  to  hope  well,  and  to  show  their  charity  to 
all.  All  that  we  preach  to  may  be  elect,  for  any  thing  we  know 
to  the  contrary;  however,  in  every  congregation,  where  the 
faithful  word  is  preached,  there  are  some  who  belong  to  the 
election  of  grace :  and  though  the  same  overtures  are  made  to 
all  who  hear  the  gospel,  yet  none  will  believe  and  be  saved,  but 
the  elect,  whom  God  makes  willing  in  the  day  of  his  power. 

(4.)  The  preaching  of  the  gospel  is  promiscuous  to  all,  because 
ministers  cannot  distinguish  between  the  elect  and  reprobate  : 
God  does  not  see  fit  to  tell  preachers  what  number  he  has  chosen 
to  salvation,  of  those  they  minister  to,  and  what  number  he  has 
refused :  nor  has  he  set  any  particular  mark  upon  the  persons 
of  the  one  denomination  or  the  other :  wherefore  they  are  com- 
manded and  obliged  to  declare  the  way  of  salvation  by  Jesus 
Christ,  to  all  who  come  under  their  ministrations. 

(5.)  Ordinances,  properly  speaking,  were  primarily  and  chiefly 
designed  for  the  elect  only,  as  the  usual  and  ordinary  means, 
whereby  the  purpose  of  God,  in  their  salvation,  shall  be  accom- 
plished. God  could  save  his  elect  without  the  use  of  ordi- 
nances; but  he  has  been  pleased  to  appoint  them,  as  the  com- 
mon means  of  conveying  his  saving  grace  into  their  hearts,  in 
order  to  their  enjoying  that  everlasting  life,  to  which  he  from 
eternity  designed  them.  Therefore  he  directed  his  apostles  to  go 


OF  PARTICULAK  ELECTION.  99 

and  preach  in  some  places,  and  not  in  others,  because  he  had  a 
chosen  people  in  those  places,  to  which  he  sent  them,  Luke  i. 
17,  Acts  XV.  14,  and  xviii.  9,  10,  and  the  Lord,  by  their  minis- 
try, "  added  to  the  church  such  as  should  be  saved,"  or  such  as 
he  had  determined  to  save,  Acts  ii.  47. 

(6.)  If  God,  by  the  general  dispensation  of  the  means  of 
grace,  designed  to  save  all  that  come  under  them,  how  comes  it 
to  pass  that  all  who  attend  them  are  not  saved?  God  can  as 
easily  save  all,  as  some,  if  he  has  designed;  for  ivho  has  resisted 
/iis  will?  If  it  is  given  to  persons,  under  ordinances,  to  believe, 
God  can  as  easily  give  faith  to  all  as  to  some:  if  faith  is  of  our 
own  operation,  then  the  purpose  of  God  is  limited  to,  and  deter- 
mined by  the  will  of  man. 

(7.)  In  administering  ordinances,  especially  in  the  preaching 
of  the  gospel,  ministers  are  not  to  regard  persons  as  elect  or  re- 
probate, but  as  sinners  or  saints.  It  is  true,  did  they  not  hope, 
that  among  the  unconverted  there  might  be  a  chosen  people, 
who  should  be  called  in  due  time,  they  would  have  no  encour- 
agement to  preach  to  sinners,  but  would  separate  the  saints,  and 
preach  only  to  them.  In  our  ministry,  we  cannot  be  said  to 
preach  to  persons  under  the  unknown  character  of  elect  or  re- 
probate: no;  we  preach  the  gospel  to  all  without  distinction; 
we  tell  sinners  of  their  lost  and  miserable  state,  by  reason  of 
sin;  set  Christ  before  them,  as  the  only  Saviour  of  sinners;  ex- 
hort tiiem  to  fly  to  him  for  help ;  to  repent  of  their  sins,  and  to 
yield  obedience  to  the  divine  precepts,  not  knowing  who  will 
believe,  or  gainsay,  or  what  the  success  of  our  labour  will  be. 
And,  while  we  are  thus  preaching  to  all,  God  lays  hold  of  the 
heart  of  one  and  another,  calls  them  by  his  ethcacious  grace, 
makes  them  penitent  and  obedient;  and  "as  many  as  are  or- 
dained to  eternal  life  believe." 

(8.)  Though  the  reprobate  cannot  be  saved  by  the  preaching 
of  the  gospel,  unless  we  suppose  that  God  reverses  his  decrees 
towards  them;  yet  it  is  necessary  that  it  should  be  preached  to 
them,  and  on  several  accounts,  viz.  that  they  may  know  their 
duty,  what  it  is  God  requires  of  them;  that  they  may,  under 
the  ministry  of  the  word,  be  restrained  from  some  gross  enor- 
mous vices;  have  their  manners  somewhat  cultivated,  and  so 
be  made  useful  to  society,  less  injurious  to  the  pious,  and  pre- 
vent a  severer  punishment.  In  fine,  it  is  necessary  that  the 
gospel  should  be  preached  even  to  the  reprobate,  that  their 
moutlis  may  be  stopped,  and  they  may  be  left  without  excuse  ; 
"  If  I  had  not  come,"  says  Christ  of  the  Jews,  "  and  spoken  to 
them,  they  had  not  had  sin ;  but  now  they  have  no  cloak  (or 
excuse)  for  their  sin."  John  xv.  22.  The  primary  design  of 
God,  in  sending  his  gospel  and  ordinances  to  any  people,  is, 
that  the  elect  thereby  may  be  brought  home  to  himself,  and  his 
purpose  in  their  salvation  be  accomplished;  that  the  reprobate 


100  OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION. 

are  hereby  left  without  excuse,  is  a  secondary  and  more  remote 
consideration. 

Tluis  we  see  that  the  promiscuous  preaching  of  the  gospel  to 
all,  does  not  infer  that  all  will  or  may  be  saved ;  but  that  it  is 
the  usual  means  whereby  the  chosen  people  of  God  are  con- 
verted, edified,  and  comforted ;  and  necessary  to  the  reprobate, 
even  though  they  cannot  be  saved  by  it.  But  if  the  geheral 
preaching  of  the  gospel  is  supposed,  after  all,  to  carry  any  argu- 
ment in  it  against  the  doctrine  of  special  election,  it  stands  with 
equal  force  as  an  argument  against  the  divine  foreknowledge. 

4.  I  come  now  to  consider  the  objection  against  our  doctrine, 
''  that  it  weakens  men's  regard  to  good  works,  and  tends  to 
encourage  licentiousness ;'''  to  which  I  would  beg  leave  to 
reply.  Though  some,  who  pretend  to  believe  the  doctrine  of 
determinate  election,  are  unmindful  of  their  duty,  and  immoral 
in  their  conversation,  it  will  not,  from  hence,  follow,  that  the 
doctrine  itself  gives  countenance  to  any  such  misconduct.  If 
God  had,  indeed,  chosen  men  to  salvation,  without  regard 
to  good  works  as  a  part  of  it,  there  would  be  some  ground  for 
the  objection;  but  when  good  works  are  a  very  constituent 
part  of  that  salvation  to  which  God  has  designed  the  elect,  and 
when  they  are  the  principal  ground  and  evidence  from  whence 
persons  can  or  may  conclude  that  they  are  elected;  seeing  no 
man  has  any  right  to  believe  that  he  is  elected  of  God  to  sal- 
vation till  he  is  brought  to  hate  sin,  and  delightfully  to  perform 
good  works;  when  these  things  are  so,  I  cannot  conceive  how 
this  doctrine  can  be  an  enemy  to  good  works,  or  why  persons 
should  deem  it  so.  Those  persons  who  are  so  bold  and  foolish 
as  to  say,  if  we  are  elected  we  shall  be  saved,  though  we  live 
as  we  list,  do  not  only  reason  quite  contrary  to  the  design  of 
the  decree,  but  give  very  plain  and  strong  proof  that  they  have 
no  lot  nor  portion  in  this  matter.  No  doctrine  in  the  world 
has  a  greater  tendency  to  discourage  sin,  and  promote  good 
works,  than  this  of  particular  election;  for  if  our  election  to 
salvation  is  of  the  free  grace,  goodness  and  love  of  God,  what 
can  be  a  greater  argument  to  repentance  than  such  goodness  ? 
What  can  incite  us  more  to  obedience  than  such  love?  What 
can  more  effectually  teach  us  to  live  soberly,  righteously,  and 
godly,  than  such  grace  ?  Besides,  when  good  works  are,  even 
by  the  purpose  of  God,  affixed,  as  the  very  means  whereby 
the  elect  are  to  attain  their  final  salvation,  and  so  are  made 
necessary  to,  and  inseparable  from  it,  what  can  be  a  more 
powerful  motive  to  the  performance  of  them  than  this  consi- 
deration? Further,  the  purpose  of  God,  concerning  the  salva- 
tion or  destruction  of  any,  cannot  annul  the  relation  that  we 
stand  in  to  God,  as  his  creatures,  nor  our  obligation  to  perform 
good  works.  That  I  am  a  creature  of  God,  and  ought,  as  such, 
to  be  obedient  to  him,  I  know;  but  I  cannot,  it  may  be,  know 


OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION.  101 

whether  I  am  elect,  or  reprobate ;  wherefore  what  is  to  me  a 
secret,  should  never  be  a  bar  or  discouragement  to  the  perform- 
ance of  those  things  which  I  am  bound  to  do,  upon  the  most 
manifest  evidence.  Besides,  though  good  works  are  not  the 
cause  of  God's  choosing  any  to  salvation,  yet  they  are  abso- 
lutely necessary  and  useful,  and  that  not  only  as  an  evidence 
of  our  election,  but  to  testify  our  love  to  God;  to  promote  the 
glory  of  God  in  the  world,  to  convince  gainsayers,  to  be  an 
example  to  others,  and  that  we  may  be  more  fitted  for  commu- 
nion with  God  here,  and  the  enjoyment  of  him  in  glory  here- 
after. In  fine,  that  our  doctrine  is  no  encourager  of  sin,  or 
enemy  to  holiness  and  good  works,  is  evident,  through  grace, 
in  some  good  measure,  by  the  lives  and  conversations  of  those 
who  profess  to  believe  it.  It  must  be  granted,  as  a  melancholy 
truth,  that  there  are  too  many  orthodox  heads,  who  have  sad 
unsound  hearts,  and  lead  very  wicked  lives;  but  if  practical 
religion  shines  forth  with  greater  lustre  among  any  party  of 
Christians  more  than  among  others,  it  is,  generally  speaking,  I 
say  generally  speaking,  most  conspicuous  among  the  avowers 
of  the  Calvinistic  doctrines.  I  do  not  say  this  to  fix  a  charge 
of  wickedness  upon  others,  far  be  it  from  me  to  be  guilty  of  so 
much  malice  and  uncharitableness;  nor  do  I  affirm  this  out  of 
a  vain  ostentation,  for  who  is  it  that  makes  men  to  differ?  But 
when  a  doctrine  is  charged,  as  encouraging  licentiousness,  if  the 
professors  of  it  appear  to  be  no  more  wicked  than  others,  nay, 
to  practise  and  maintain  good  works  as  much,  if  not  more  than 
those  who  would  fix  such  an  unjust  consequence  upon  their 
doctrine,  the  objection  is  so  far  from  weakening,  that  it  has  a 
tendency  to  establish  and  confirm  our  faith  in  the  doctrine,  as 
according  to  godliness. 

5.  It  is  objected,  to  the  doctrine  of  particular  election,  "  that 
it  has  a  tendency  to  prevent  endeavours  after  salvation,  and  to 
encourage  indolence  and  presumption."  If  God  has,  from  eter- 
nity, chosen  a  determinate  number  of  persons  to  salvation,  and 
if  these,  and  no  others,  shall  infallibly  obtain  it,  then  does  not 
such  a  doctrine  discourage  endeavours,  and  lead  on  to  sloth  and 
presumption?  For  if  I  am  not  elected,  may  a  person  say,  to 
what  purpose  are  all  my  endeavours  for  salvation?  I  can  never 
attain  to  it  by  them;  and,  if  I  am  elected,  why  should  I  strive 
and  labour,  when  my  salvation  is  made  sure,  by  the  immutable 
decree  of  God?  To  this  I  would  reply:  That  the  abuse  of  a 
doctrine,  by  some  weak  or  wicked  persons,  can  never  prove  a 
doctrine  to  be  false ;  there  is  no  truth  but  what  is  liable  to  be 
abused.  It  is  absurd  and  irrational,  in  its  own  nature,  for  any 
persons  to  argue  at  this  rate,  because  this  is  to  draw  certain 
conclusions  from  uncertain  premises.  Though  God  has  chosen 
some,  and  refused  others,  yet  he  has  not  told  us  who  are  the 
particular  persons.     The  certainty  of  the  end,  upon  the  decree 


109  OF    PARTICULAR   ELECTION. 

of  God,  is  no  hinderance  or  discouragement  to  the  use  of  suit- 
able means,  in  order  to  attain  tlie  end,  because  God  has,  by  his 
decree,  connected  the  means  and  the  end  together;  and  we  are 
said  to  be  "  chosen  to  salvation,  through  sanctification  of  the 
Spirit,  and  belief  of  the  truth."  Our  Saviour  knew  very  well 
what  was  the  prefixed  term  of  his  life  on  earth ;  yet  he  studi- 
ously avoided  dangers,  and  escaped  the  hands  of  the  Jews  more 
than  once.  God  had  revealed  it  to  Paul,  that  none  of  the  pas- 
sengers, who  were  in  the  ship  with  him,  should  be  lost ;  yet  he 
exhorted  the  seamen  to  be  active,  and  would  suffer  none  of 
them  to  go  out  of  the  ship,  when  they  attempted  to  have  saved 
themselves  in  the  boat. 

The  apostle  Peter  exhorts  believers  to  "  give  diligence  to 
make  their  calling  and  election  sure,"  I  Pet.  i.  10,  though  he 
knew  their  election  and  salvation  was  sure,  by  the  decree  of  God : 
and  our  Saviour  bids  all  his  followers  "  to  strive  to  enter  in  at 
the  strait  gate,"  at  the  same  time  that  he  tells  them,  "many 
shall  strive  to  enter  in,  and  shall  not  be  able,"  Luke  xiii.  24. 
Moreover,  the  apostle  Paul  informs  us,  that  "  they  who  run  in 
a  race  run  all,  but  one  only  receives  the  prize,"  I  Cor.  ix.  24. 
No  one  can  win  who  does  not  run ;  all  will  not  win  who  do 
run ;  yet  all  run.  We  see  then,  from  hence,  that  the  certainty 
of  the  salvation  of  some,  ought  to  be  no  hinderance  to  the  en- 
deavours of  all  to  attain  it. 

Suppose  I  could  assure  you  of  this  assembly,  that  God  had 
determined  the  certain  salvation  of  one  in  three,  or  five,  or  more 
or  less  of  you ;  would  not  this  be  a  greater  encouragement  to 
you  all  to  be  found  in  the  use  of  means,  than  to  be  told  that 
God  had  decreed  the  possible  salvation  of  you  all,  but  has  not 
secured  the  salvation  of  any  one  of  you?  For  who  will  strive 
so  much  after  that,  the  attainment  whereof  is  merely  possible 
to  every  one,  as  for  that  which  is  certain  to  some,  who  strive 
for  it  ?  Nay,  who  will  use  endeavours  at  all,  that  considers  his 
inequality  to  the  work,  and  that  it  is  next  to  an  impossibility 
that  he  should  obtain  what  he  is  to  take  pains  for?  But,  on 
the  contrary,  if  the  salvation  but  of  a  few  is  certain,  this  will  be 
an  encouragement  to  all  who  seek  after  it,  because  each  one 
will  be  ready  to  argue,  who  knows  but  I  may  be  one  of  those 
happy  ones,  whose  salvation  God  has  infallibly  determined  ? 
Those  who  oppose  our  doctrine,  are  free  to  allow  that  all  men 
eventually  will  not  be  saved ;  now,  whether  their  doctrine  does 
not  as  much  discourage  endeavours  as  ours,  is  no  difficult  thing 
to  determine;  for  what  more  encouragement  is  given  to  all  to 
strive,  from  this  declaration,  that  all  will  not  eventually  be 
saved,  than  from  this,  that  God  does  not  design  the  salvation 
of  all  men?  Our  doctrine  cannot  encourage  indolence  and  pre- 
sumption, because  the  means  are  connected  with  the  end  by 
the  purpose  of  God ;  because  no  man  has  a  right  to  conclude 


OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION.  103 

himself  an  elect  person,  till  he  is  called  and  converted,  and 
because  presumption,  in  an  allowed  course  of  sin,  is  absolutely 
inconsistent  with  a  state  of  grace,  and  a  strong  argument  that  a 
person  is  not  an  elect  of  God,  whatever  his  pretences  may  be. 

6.  It  is  objected  to  our  doctrine,  « that  it  is  contrary  to  the 
justice  of  God,  that  it  narrows  his  goodness,  and  limits  his 
mercy  ;  in  short,  that  it  is  unjust,  unkind,  and  unmerciful  in 
God,  to  decree  the  certain  salvation  of  some  few,  and  to  leave 
the  rest  to  perish  everlastingly." — "  How  is  it,"  say  our  oppo- 
nents, "consistent  with  the  notions  that  we  have  of  God,  as  a 
just,  gracious  and  merciful  being,  that  he  should,  from  eternity, 
determine  to  give  his  grace  to  some  few,  whereby  they  shall 
infallibly  be  saved;  and  to  deny  it  to  a  great  many,  from 
whence  they  must  inevitably  perish,  when  all  mankind  are 
equally  the  objects  of  his  justice,  goodness  and  mercy?" 

To  this  we  might  answer,  as  the  apostle  does :  •'  Nay  but,  0 
man,  who  art  thou  that  repliest  against  God  ?  Shall  the  thing 
formed,  say  to  him  that  formed  it,  why  hast  thou  made  me 
thus?"  Rom.  ix.  20.  "  Shall  not  the  judge  of  the  whole  world 
do  right  ?"  Gen.  xviii.  25.  God  says,  "  Jacob  have  I  loved, 
but  Esau  have  I  hated.  What  shall  we  say  then  ?  Is  there 
unrighteousness  with  God  ?  God  forbid  :  For  he  says  to  Moses, 
I  will  have  mercy  on  whom  I  will  have  mercy,  and  I  will  have 
compassion  on  whom  I  will  have  compassion ;  so  then  it  is  not 
of  him  that  willeth,  nor  of  him  that  runneth,  but  of  God  that 
showeth  mercy,"  Rom.  ix.  13 — 16.  "Is  God  unrighteous  who 
taketh  vengeance  ?  God  forbid,"  Rom.  hi.  5,  6.  It  is  an  easy 
thing  to  charge  a  scripture  truth  with  being  inconsistent  with 
the  perfections  of  God ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  prove  the  alle- 
gation. It  is  a  wicked  thing  to  charge  God  with  being  unjust, 
unkind,  or  unmerciful,  for  doing  what  he  will  with  his  own; 
nor  can  the  objection  be  made  good  against  our  doctrine,  that 
it  argues  injustice,  unkindness,  and  unmerciful ness  in  God:  the 
Scriptures  give  no  encouragement  for  any  such  charges.  It  is 
represented  as  no  derogation  to  the  grace  of  God,  that  he  called 
Abraham  alone,  leaving  great  numbers  to  perish ;  that  he  saved 
only  Noah  and  his  family,  when  all  the  rest  of  the  world  were 
drowned;  that  Lot  and  his  house  were  preserved,  and  all  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah  left  to  be  consumed:  Moses  never  speaks  of  it 
as  a  lessening  or  disparagement  to  the  goodness  of  God,  that  he 
chose  Israel  alone  for  his  peculiar  people,  who  were  the  fewest 
of  the  nations;  nor  do  I  find  that  our  opponents  charge  God 
with  a  want  of  justice,  goodness,  or  mercy,  that  he  sends  the 
gospel  to  some  nations,  when  the  far  greater  part  of  the  world 
are  left  in  darkness  and  ignorance;  so  that  we  ought  to  be  very 
tender  in  charging  the  proceedings  of  divine  sovereignty  with 
being  opposite  to  all  or  any  of  God's  moral  perfections. 

But  further:  If  it  could  be  proved,  that  God  owed  all  men 


104  OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION. 

saving  grace,  it  must  be  owned  to  be  an  unjust  thing  in  him  to 
deny  it  to  any;  but  God  is  not  obliged  to  give  any  man  saving 
grace.  The  number  of  the  elect  is  not  so  few  as  some  would 
represent  it  to  be ;  they  are  "  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand, 
and  thousands  of  thousands,"  Dan.  vii.  10,  compared  with  Rev. 
V.  11.  The  reprobate,  strictly  speaking,  are  not  condemned  for 
not  doing  that  which  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  do,  because 
God  had  refused  to  give  them  his  saving  grace;  but  for  not  do- 
ing what  was  in  their  power,  and  which  they  themselves  made 
impossible  to  be  done,  by  a  long  course  of  indulged  wickedness. 
We  have  as  much  reason  to  charge  God  with  injustice,  cruelty, 
and  unmercifulness,  in  condemning  and  destroying  all  the  fallen 
angels,  as  in  determining  to  leave  some  of  fallen  mankind  to 
perish :  and  will  any  attempt  to  say  it  is  unjust  in  God  to  deter- 
mine to  save  only  some  of  mankind,  when  he  would  have  been 
just  if  he  had  destroyed  them  all  ?  Or  shall  we  presume  to 
affirm  that  God  is  unmerciful,  "because  he  has  mercy  on  whom 
he  will  have  mercy?" 

The  same  objection  will  lie  against  the  divine  perfections, 
fi'om  God's  not  eventually  saving  all,  as  from  his  determination 
not  to  save  all ;  for  he  could  save  every  man  if  he  would  ;  and 
yet  our  opponents  will  not  attempt  to  affirm,  that  all  men  are 
saved  in  the  event.  God  could  have  created  all  men  perfect, 
as  well  as  the  first  man;  he  could  have  preserved  Adam  and 
all  his  seed  in  innocence;  or,  after  man  had  fallen,  and  made 
himself  vile  and  miserable,  God  could  change  the  hearts  of  all 
men,  and  convert  and  save  them  all,  if  he  so  pleased.  Why 
then  do  our  opponents  charge  our  doctrine  with  unmerciful- 
ness, when  the  same  charge  equally  lies  against  their  own 
opinion? 

To  proceed  a  little  further,  as  to  the  supposed  unmercifulness 
of  our  doctrine.  For  my  own  part,  I  confess,  that  one  great 
reason  why  I  believe  and  espouse  the  doctrine  of  special  deter- 
minate election,  is,  because  of  the  mercy  of  it.  I  hope,  I  am 
not  mistaken;  for,  to  me,  our  doctrine  appears  most  to  illustrate 
the  mercy  of  God,  and  to  be  most  friendly  to  mankind ;  nay, 
there  is,  in  my  opinion,  no  friendship  nor  mercy  in  any  other 
doctrine  but  this.  To  make  this  good,  be  pleased  to  observe, 
that  all,  in  fact,  are  not  eventually  saved ;  that  no  more  shall 
be  saved  than  what  are  saved ;  and  that  all  who  are  saved,  are 
elect  to  salvation.  Our  opponents  never  attempted  to  affirm 
that  all  men  are  actually  saved ;  no  one  will  pretend  to  assert 
that  more  shall  be  saved  than  what  are  saved;  all  that  are 
saved,  v/e  say,  are  elected  to  salvation.  Where  is  the  unmer- 
cifulness of  this  doctrine?  We  do  not  narrow  or  confine  salva- 
tion, but  make  it,  in  fact,  as  extensive  in  its  subjects,  as  those 
who  oppose  themselves  to  us.  The  difference  between  them 
and  us,  is  not  about  the  number  who  are  saved;  we  both  agree 


OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION.  105 

in  that;  but  what  we  differ  about  is,  the  manner  of  their  ob- 
taining salvation.  We  say,  they  are  saved  by  virtue  of  the 
electing  love  of  God ;  they  say,  they  are  saved  because  they 
rightly  improve  their  own  free  will.  We  affirm  them  to  be 
saved  in  such  a  way,  as  ascribes  all  the  glory  to  God ;  the  way 
of  salvation  which  they  hold  is  such,  as  leaves  great  room  for 
man  to  glory.  Thus  far  our  doctrine  appears  to  be  as  merciful 
as  theirs.     But  further. 

Our  opponents'  scheme  makes  the  salvation  of  each  man  but 
barely  possible;  our  doctrine  makes  the  salvation  of  millions  of 
men  absolutely  certain ;  so  that  hence  ours  appears  to  be  more 
merciful  than  theirs:  for  I  would  ask  any  unprejudiced  person, 
whether  a  doctrine  that  secures  the  salvation  of  some,  whether 
one  in  ten,  or  nine  in  ten,  God  only  knows,  does  not  better 
deserve  the  epithets  of  friendly  and  merciful,  than  a  notion  that 
puts  the  salvation  of  every  one  upon  a  bare  possibility,  whence 
it  may  happen  that,  even  according  to  their  tenets,  no  one  may 
be  saved  at  last  ?  Let  none  call  what  I  am  going  to  say  cant, 
or  a  declamatory  harangue,  to  captivate  the  passions.  Suppose 
God  was  to  summon  all  mankind  before  him,  and  to  demand  a 
choice  of  them  which  of  the  two  schemes  they  would  give  into; 
would  they  not  prefer  that  which  infallibly  secures  the  salvation 
of  a  chosen  number,  to  that  which  puts  the  salvation  of  each 
one  upon  a  dangerous  uncertainty  ?  From  what  has  been  said, 
it  appears  that  our  doctrine  is  more  merciful  than  that  of  our 
opponents. 

I  shall  venture  to  go  one  step  higher,  and  that  is,  to  prove 
that  the  doctrine  of  our  opponents  is  an  unmerciful  doctrine, 
because  it  is  so  far  from  ascertaining  the  salvation  of  any,  that 
it  renders  the  salvation  of  each  man  a  moral  impossibility.  The 
opinion  of  those  who  differ  from  us,  as  to  the  doctrine  of  elec- 
tion, so  far  as  it  relates  to  salvation,  I  take  to  be  this:  That  it 
is  a  conditional  choice,  upon  our  perseverance  in  a  life  of  holi- 
ness; i.  e,  if  I  may  give  you  the  sense  more  fully,  in  other  words, 
it  is  God's  choosing  persons  to  salvation,  upon  the  conditions 
of  faith,  repentance,  and  perseverance  in  holiness.  Upon  this, 
now  let  me  observe,  that  they  will  not  allow  that  God  has  de- 
termined to  give  to  any  man  this  faith,  repentance,  and  perse- 
verance; nay,  absolutely  deny  that  God  has  ordained  one  single 
person  to  faith,  repentance,  and  perseverance  to  the  end ;  so  that 
the  performance  of  these  conditions  depends  entirely  upon  the 
will  of  man.  But  if  this  is  the  case,  the  question,  which  was 
once  put  to  our  Lord,  may  very  properly  be  asked  here,  Who 
then  can  be  saved?     For, 

(1,)  If  the  Scriptures  have  represented  men,  as,  by  nature,  in 
a  state  of  death ;  to  every  good  work  reprobate ;  not  sufficient 
of  themselves  to  speak  a  good  word,  or  think  a  good  thought ; 
as  not  able  to  do  any  thing  without  Christ,  and  by  many  such 

14 


106  OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION. 

the  like  declarations;  then  how  is  it  possible  that  they  should, 
by  their  own  innate  power,  ever  perform  these  weighty  and 
extensive  conditions? 

(2.)  If  faith,  repentance,  and  perseverance  in  holiness,  are  the 
gifts  of  God,  and  God  has  not  designed  or  determined  to  give 
them  to  any  one  single  person;  is  it  not  impossible  that  any  one 
should  believe,  repent,  and  persevere?  God  does  not  give  good 
gifts  at  random,  or  by  accident,  without  determining  both  the 
quality  of  the  gift,  and  the  number  of  the  objects;  but  "every 
good  and  every  perfect  gift  is  from  above,  and  comes  down 
from  the  Father  of  lights,  with  whom  is  no  variableness,  neither 
shadow  of  turning."  James  i,  17.  It  immediately  follows,  "  Of 
his  own  will  begat  he  us  with  the  word  of  truth,"  James  i.  18. 
God  is  of  one  mind,  and  who  can  turn  him?  His  purposes,  like 
his  nature,  are  invariable;  and,  because  they  are  so,  his  gifts 
are  without  repentance,  and  he  quickens  and  saves  whom  he 
will.  What  are  God's  actings,  but  the  accomplishment  of  his 
purposes?  Purposes  are  actions  decreed,  actions  are  purposes 
executed.  As  the  promises  of  God  are  the  revelation  of  his 
purposes  of  good  will,  so  the  actings  of  God  upon  his  creatures 
are  the  execution  of  his  purposes,  and  the  fulfilment  of  his 
promises.  Well  now,  if  faith,  repentance,  and  perseverance  in 
holiness,  are  the  gifts  of  God,  and  he  has  not  purposed  to  give 
them  to  any;  and  where  there  is  neither  purpose  in  God,  nor 
promise  from  him,  there  can  be  no  saving  gifts;  if  so,  how  is  it 
possible  that  any  man  can  be  saved? 

(3.)  If  Adam,  in  innocence,  vho  was  created  perfect,  and 
with  a  plenitude  of  power  to  do  what  God  required,  if,  I  say, 
he  did  not  fulfil  the  law  of  nature,  how  is  it  possible  that  we, 
who  are  fallen  imperfect  creatures,  should  obey  the  law  that 
we  are  imder?  A  perfect  creature  must  be  much  more  able  to 
yield  a  perfect  obedience,  than  an  imperfect  creature  is  to  yield 
imperfect;  because,  when  the  nature  is  once  vitiated,  it  is  more 
difficult  to  perform  one  good  action,  than  it  is  for  a  perfect  na- 
ture to  yield  perfect  obedience.  Should  any  say,  this  is  begging 
the  question,  to  assert  that  we  are  imperfect  creatures,  we  have 
as  much  power  for  obedience,  as  Adam  ever  had;  supposing  it, 
but  not  granting  it,  then, 

(4.)  If  Adam  did  not  perform  the  condition  of  his  covenant, 
which  was  to  refrain  only  from  eating  of  the  forbidden  fruit ; 
but,  upon  a  temptation  of  the  serpent,  did,  contrary  to  his  alle- 
giance to  God,  and  the  high  obligations  he  was  under  to  comply 
with  the  divine  command,  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree,  of  which 
God  had  said,  "  In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof,  thou  shalt  surely 
die,"  Gen.  ii.  17;  if  he  could  not  suspend  a  single  act,  even 
though  he,  it  is  not  improbable,  knew  this  was  to  be  the  test 
of  his  obedience,  and  that  his  own  and  the  fate  of  his  posterity 
depended  upon  it :  I  say,  if  he,  in  these  circumstances,  without 


OF   TARTICULAR  ELECTION.  107 

supernatural  aids,  could  not  refrain  a  single  act,  how  is  it  pos- 
sible for  us,  who  are  surrounded  with  innumerable  temptations, 
to  perform  the  conditions  of  our  covenant,  to  believe,  repent, 
and  persevere  in  hoUness,  which  require  the  exertions  of  mil- 
lions of  positive  acts  ?  To  suspend  acting,  is  much  easier  than 
to  put  forth  an  act ;  but  what  comparison  is  there  between  a 
perfect  man's  refraining  one  act,  and  an  imperfect  man's  put- 
ting forth  innumerable  acts?  When  Adam  then  could  not  do 
the  former,  will  any  one  now  presume  to  say  he  is  able  to  do 
the  latter?  So  that,  upon  the  whole,  the  doctrine  of  an  uni- 
versal conditional  election  appears  to  be  unmerciful,  while  the 
mercy  of  God  shines  with  a  bright  lustre  in  the  doctrine  of 
absolute  particular  election. 

Thus  I  have  finished  what  I  design  doctrinally  from  the 
words.  Let  the  arguments  and  objections  be  taken  together, 
compared,  and  weighed,  and  I  doubt  not  but  the  balance  will 
be  found  to  be  in  favour  of  our  doctrine ;  and  it  will  appear 
evident  that  God  has  decreed,  before  all  worlds,  the  certain 
salvation  of  a  determinate  number  of  mankind,  and  left  the  rest 
to  themselves.  I  have  designedly  studied  great  plainness  of 
speech,  as  best  suited  to  the  solemnity  and  importance  of  the 
subject,  that  I  might  the  more  readily  be  understood  of  all,  and 
that  your  faith  might  not  stand  in  the  wisdom  of  man,  but 
in  the  power  of  God.  I  have  endeavoured  to  set  the  whole 
matter  in  the  clearest  and  most  obvious  light  I  could,  to  digest 
my  proofs  in  a  natural  order,  and  to  represent  the  objections  in 
the  fairest  and  strongest  manner.  I  hope  no  one  will  have  rea- 
son to  say  that  I  have  been  combating  with  a  man  of  straw  of 
my  own  making,  or  fighting  with  my  own  shadow ;  and,  should 
it  appear  that  I  have  given  an  invidious,  harsh,  or  false  turn  to 
any  argument  or  objection  of  our  opponents,  I  should  be  hear- 
tily sorry  for  it,  and  most  readily  acknowledge  my  fault. 

APPLICATION. 

1.  If  there  be  such  a  doctrine  as  particular  election  in  Scrip- 
ture, then  it  ought  to  be  preached.  Some  absolutely  deny  the 
doctrine ;  others  think  it  improper  to  be  taught,  because  they 
apprehend  that  many  persons  may  draw  ill  consequences  from 
it.  But  since  Christ  and  his  apostles  preached  it,  and  since  the 
adversaries  are  not  so  unwearied  in  their  endeavours  to  oppose 
and  condemn  it,  it  must  well  become  us,  who  believe  it,  to 
assert  and  vindicate  it,  to  the  best  of  our  power:  for,  if  this 
doctrine  is  not  to  be  preached,  because  some  do  or  may  abuse 
it,  for  the  same  reason  all  the  special  truths  of  the  gospel  must 
be  laid  aside,  as  useless  or  hurtful ;  and  so  a  Christian  must 
starve,  for  fear  a  profane  sinner  should  grow  wanton  in  a 
plenty  of  provision.     Who  are  they,  generally  speaking,  that 


108  OF  PARTICULAP.  ELECTION. 

revile  and  abuse  this  doctrine,  but  the  unthinking,  giddy,  and 
profane  part  of  the  world,  who,  when  they  boast  of  a  power  to 
save  themselves,  make  use  of  it  only  to  their  own  destruction ; 
and,  when  they  assert  good  works  to  be  the  only  way  to  hea- 
ven, are  very  backward  to  perform  any  ?  Besides  this,  that 
there  are  no  real  disadvantages  that  can  arise  from  the  prudent 
preaching  of  this  doctrine,  there  are  several  positive  advan- 
tages that  attend  the  preaching  of  it.  For  instance :  the  gospel 
cannot  be  preached  entire  without  it;  it  is  the  foundation  of  all 
those  great  and  precious  promises  that  are  contained  in  the 
Bible:  the  doctrine  of  the  satisfaction  of  Christ  would  be  little 
better  than  a  nullity  without  it:  it  tends  to  display  the  divine 
sovereignty,  and  to  give  us  a  lively  representation  of  the  love 
and  grace  of  God  to  sinful  men :  it  is  a  great  comfort  and  sup- 
port to  Christians,  in  a  time  of  common  defection  and  tempta- 
tion: it  is  an  effectual  antidote  against  the  swelling  pride  of 
man,  and  is,  as  I  have  before  observed,  one  of  the  most  power- 
ful arguments  to  holiness  and  good  works. 

2.  Is  there  an  election  of  particular  persons  to  salvation? 
then  we  ought  to  inquire  whether  we  are  of  the  happy  num- 
ber. HoAV  many  God  has  chosen  who  can  tell  ?  But  was  the 
number  never  so  few,  every  one  should  be  putting  the  question, 
Lord,  is  it  I?  Who  knows  but  I  may  be  a  chosen  vessel,  and 
the  lot  may  fall  upon  me?  However,  I  will,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  be  found  in  the  way  of  means;  I  will  wait  at  the  pool;  I 
will  do  the  best  I  can  to  promote  my  own  salvation.  We  can 
lose  nothing  by  endeavouring;  nay,  when  God  inclines  and 
enables  us  to  put  forth  endeavours  after  salvation,  we  have  good 
ground  to  hope  that  he  has  a  design  to  save  us. 

3.  Is  it  through  faith  and  holiness  that  God  chooses  persons 
to  salvation?  then  let  us  not  separate  the  means  from  the  end, 
or  ever  think  of  getting  to  heaven  without  faith  and  holiness. 
Let  every  one  be  persuaded  to  mind  his  duty,  being  fully 
assured  that  duty  and  privileges,  the  means  and  end,  are  in- 
separably connected  together  by  the  decree  of  God. 

4.  Let  those  be  very  thankful  to  God,  who  have  ground  to 
hope  that  they  are  chosen  of  him  to  salvation.  Praise  is  comely 
for  such  as  you:  consider  the  greatness  and  freeness  of  the 
blessing;  to  be  chosen  to  an  eternal  crown  of  glory;  to  be  cho- 
sen out  of  a  corrupt  mass;  to  be  chosen  when  so  many  learned, 
rich,  and  honourable  are  rejected;  to  be  chosen  before  you  had 
done  any  good,  and  without  regard  to  foreseen  merit :  how 
great  is  the  mercy!  how  rich  the  grace!  Let  your  souls  con- 
tinually magnify  the  Lord,  and  let  your  hearts  rejoice  in  the 
God  of  your  salvation.  This  will  be  the  glorious  employment 
of  an  eternity  in  heaven,  and  it  ought  to  be  the  delightful  prac- 
tice of  all  the  saints  on  earth. 

5.  Let  believers  give  diligence  to  make  their  calling  and 


OF  PARTICULAR  ELECTION.  109 

election  sure.  You  begin  at  the  wrong  end  when  you  put  the 
question  thus;  Am  I  elected?  The  question  should  be,  Am  I 
called?  You  are  to  make  your  election  sure  by  your  vocation: 
If  you  are  called,  j''ou  must  be  elected;  for,  "whom  God  pre- 
destinated, them  he  also  called,"  Rom.  viii.  30.  He  calls  them, 
not  only  externally  and  ministerially,  by  his  word;  for,  in  this 
respect,  many  are  called,  though  few  are  chosen;  but  inter- 
nally and  efficaciously,  by  his  Spirit,  making  them  to  listen, 
and  be  obedient  to  his  call.  Have  you  then  ever  been  made  to 
see  your  lost  and  miserable  state  by  reason  of  sin?  Have  you 
been  deeply  and  inwardly  affected  at  your  wretched  condition  ? 
Have  you  been  enabled  to  receive  and  rest  upon  Jesus  Christ, 
as  your  only  Saviour?  Is  Christ,  in  all  his  offices,  precious  to 
you?  Do  you  prize  the  ordinances  of  God,  and  communion 
with  him  therein?  Is  it  your  desire  to  recommend  the  grace 
of  God,  and  adorn  the  gospel  of  Christ,  by  a  virtuous  and  holy 
conversation?  You  may  then  conclude  that  you  are  called  and 
elected ;  and  you  have  a  right  to  take  the  comfort  of  it.  Be 
diligent  then  in  this  necessary  work  of  examination ;  converse 
much  with  the  sacred  oracles  of  God ;  look  narrowly  into  your 
own  hearts,  and  pray  earnestly  to  God  for  the  sealing  of  his 
Spirit ;  and  if  the  Spirit  of  God,  by  attesting  to  your  vocation, 
witnesses  with  your  spirits  that  you  are  children  of  God,  you 
may  be  assured  that  you  were  predestinated  to  this  adoption ; 
and  if  a  man  is  a  child,  then  an  heir,  an  heir  of  God,  and  a 
joint-heir  with  Jesus  Christ :  "  Give  diligence  then  to  make 
your  calling  and  election  sure ;  for  if  you  do  these  things,  you 
shall  never  fall ;  for  so  an  entrance  shall  be  ministered  to  you, 
abundantly,  into  the  everlasting  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Sa- 
viour Jesus  Christ;" 

To  whom,  with  the  eternal  Father  and  Holy  Spirit  be  glory 
and  majesty,  dominion  and  power,  both  now  and  for  ever. 
Amen. 


THE 
DOCTRINE  OF 

ORIGINAL  SIN,  STATED  AND  DEFENDED, 

IN    TWO    SERMOJVS, 

By   MR.   PETER  GOODWIN, 

MINISTER  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

SERMON  I. 

Romans  v.  19. — By  one  man's  disobedience  many  were  made  sinners. 

The  part  allotted  to  me  in  these  exercises,  is  to  endeavour  to 
open  and  vindicate  the  doctrine  of  original  sin;  a  doctrine  of 
very  great  importance,  and  wherein  we  are  all  highly  concerned : 
it  is  one  of  the  fundamental  truths  of  our  Christian  profession. 
It  lies  (says  the  excellent  Dr.  Owen*)  in  the  very  foundation 
of  all  wherein  we  have  to  do  with  God,  with  respect  to  our 
pleasing  him  here,  or  obtaining  the  enjoyment  of  him  hereafter. 
It  has  a  very  great  influence  upon  the  important  trutiis  con- 
cerning the  person  of  Christ,  his  mediation,  the  fruits  and 
effects  of  it,  and  all  the  benefits  we  are  made  partakers  of 
thereby.  Without  a  supposition  of  this,  none  of  them  can  be 
truly  known,  or  savingly  believed.  Accordingly  it  is  a  doctrine 
that  the  church  of  God  was  in  full  possession  of,  and  was  gene- 
rally  held  and  acknowledged  for  the  first  four  centuries,  till 
Pelagius,  and  his  followers  denied  it  and  disputed  against  it. 
But,  notwithstanding  this  was  an  undoubted  article  of  primitive 
Christianity,  notwithstanding  the  great  importance  of  it,  and 
the  great  concernment  we  all  have  in  it,  it  is  a  doctrine  that  is 
greatly  opposed,  and  treated  with  contempt,  and  profane  banter 
and  ridicule,  by  many  in  the  age  in  which  we  live.  And  as  it 
cannot  therefore  be  deemed  unseasonable,  so  it  is  highly  be- 
coming those  who  have  the  real  interests  of  religion  at  heart, 
and  a  just  zeal  for  the  pure  and  uncorrupted  doctrines  of  the 
gospel,  to  stand  up  in  the  defence  of  it:  nor  can  any  justly  be 
offended  at  it,  so  long  as  we  make  use  of  no  unwarrantable 
aiethods,  but  only  endeavour,  in  the  pleading  for  what  we 
apprehend  to  be  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,  to 
speak  the  truth  in  love. 

This,  therefore,  I  shall  now  attempt:  and  as  original  sin  con- 
sists of  two  parts,  that  which  is  imputed  to  us,  and  that  which 

*  Preface  to  his  Treatise  on  Indwelling  Sin. 
110 


OF    ADAM's    STN.  Ill 

is  inherent  in  us,  and  it  is  necessary  we  should  be  acquainted 
with  both,  that  we  may  look  after  that  two-fold  righteousness 
we  have  in  Christ,  his  righteousness  imputed  to  us  in  justifica- 
tion, and  an  inherent  work  of  righteousness  wrought  in  us,  in 
sanctification,  I  shall  consider  each  of  these  a  little  distinctly. 

The  former  of  these  is  a  matter  of  pure  revelation,  and  there- 
fore we  must  regulate  all  our  conceptions  about  it  by,  and  look 
for  the  confirmation  of  it  only  in,  the  Scriptures.  It  was  very 
agreeable  to  reason  to  suppose,  that  the  great  and  holy  God 
made  man  pure  and  upright,  and  placed  him  under  a  wise  and 
equitable  law  for  his  conduct;  but  whence  sin  took  its  rise,  and 
what  was  the  origin  of  all  that  moral  evil  that  is  in  the  world, 
and  that  long  train  of  miseries  that  attend  it,  was  a  question  too 
puzzling  for  mere  natural  light  to  resolve.  This  we  are  wholly 
indebted  to  the  Scriptures  for;  and  it  is,  I  think,  very  clearly 
expressed  in  the  words  of  my  text. 

The  apostle  having  fully  proved  the  doctrine  of  justification, 
by  faith,  proceeds,  in  this  excellent  chapter,  in  the  explication, 
illustration,  and  application  of  that  truth.  He  shows  us  the 
precious  benefits  and  privileges  that  flow  from  justification:  he 
acquaints  us  with  tlie  ground  and  foundation  of  it,  the  death  of 
Christ ;  and  that  he  might  affect  his  own  heart  and  ours  with 
that  unspeakable  love  of  God,  which  provided  a  Saviour,  and 
sent  his  only  begotten  Son  into  the  world,  for  that  purpose,  he 
considers  the  character  and  circumstances  of  the  persons  for 
whom  he  appeared  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  and  laid  down 
his  life :  they  were  not  friends,  and  such  as  were  able  to  oblige 
him;  but  "God  herein  commended  his  love,  that  when  we  were 
sinners,"  ungodly  enemies,  and  without  strength,  either  to  help 
ourselves,  or  be  serviceable  to  him,  "  Christ  died  for  us,"  ver. 
6 — S.  He  illustrates  it  also  from  the  consideration  of  the  pre- 
cious fruits  of  his  death,  ver.  9 — 11.  And  then  further,  to  show 
our  obligations  to  him,  he  runs  a  parallel  between  the  commu- 
nication of  sin  and  death  by  the  first,  and  of  righteousness  and 
life  by  the  second  Adam.  This  not  only  illustrates  the  great 
truth  he  is  discoursing  of,  but  tends  very  much  to  the  commend- 
ing the  love  of  God,  and  the  comforting  the  hearts  of  true  be- 
lievers, in  showing  a  correspondence  between  our  fall  and  our 
recovery;  and  not  only  alike,  but  a  greater  power  in  the  second 
Adam  to  make  us  happy,  than  there  was  in  the  first  to  make 
us  miserable.  He  compares  them  together  as  two  public  heads 
and  representatives  of  men,  and  copiously  enlarges  upon  and 
explains  the  parallel,  ver.  12 — 21,  and  comprises  the  sum  and 
substance  of  the  whole  in  the  verse  which  is  my  text:  "As  by 
one  man's  disobedience  many  were  made  sinners,  so  by  the 
obedience  of  one  shall  many  be  made  righteous." 

Our  present  concernment  lies  in  the  former  clause,  which  ac- 
quaints us  how  mankind  came  to  be  involved  in  sin  and  misery; 


112  OF   THE    IMPUTATION 

I  say  mankind:  for  that  by  many  here,  we  are  to  understand 
all  Adam's  posterity,  that  descend  from  him  by  ordinary  gene- 
ration, is  universally  acknowledged;  but  it  does  by  no  means 
follow  from  thence,  that  the  many  in  the  latter  clause  is  of  an 
equal  extent  and  latitude;  for  the  design  of  the  apostle  here, 
is  not  to  treat  of  the  extent  of  Christ's  benefits,  but  to  show 
the  manner  of  their  conveyance  to  those  who  are  happily  ad- 
mitted to  share  in  them,  whatever  their  numbers  be ;  that  Christ 
communicates  grace  and  righteousness  to  all  whom  he  repre- 
sents, i.  e.  the  elect,  as  Adam  transferred  sin  and  death  on  those 
whom  he  represented,  which  are  all  men.  So  that  the  great 
truth  contained  in  the  text,  which  I  am  to  consider  and  improve, 
is  this:  By  one  man's  disobedience  all  mankind  are  made 
sinners. 

In  speaking  to  which  proposition,  I  shall,  by  divine  assistance, 
observe  the  following  method: 

I.  I  shall  inquire  what  the  one  man's  disobedience  here  in- 
tended is. 

II.  I  shall  show  in  what  sense  all  mankind  are  said  to  be 
made  sinners,  by  that  one  man's  disobedience. 

III.  I  shall  consider  the  ground  of  this  dispensation. 

IV.  I  shall  endeavour  to  vindicate  the  justice  and  equity 
of  it. 

I.  Let  us  inquire  what  the  ojie  man's  disobedience  here  in- 
tended is. 

There  is  no  doubt,  but  by  the  one  m,an,  is  meant  the  first 
man  Adam,  the  father  of  us  all :  and  it  is,  I  think,  plain,  from 
the  scope  and  diction  of  the  apostle,  in  the  context,  that  by  this 
one  man's  disobedience,  is  meant  the  first  sin  only;  that  first 
act  of  disobedience,  in  eating  the  forbidden  fruit,  by  which  man 
first  cast  off  the  allegiance  that  was  due  to  his  Creator.  It  is 
the  sin  of  that  one  man,  as  he  was  a  common  person,  the  federal 
head  and  representative  of  mankind,  and  while  he  continued 
such,  but  he  ceasing  to  be  such,  upon  his  breach  of  the  cove- 
nant; hence  it  is  only  that  first  sin,  and  not  the  sins  he  after- 
wards committed,  by  which  the  many  are  said  to  be  made  sin- 
ners. The  ii  Ttapaxot;,  the  disobedience,  here  is  the  same  with 
the  4  afiaptia,  the  si7i:  that  is,  the  Jirst  sin,  which,  entering  into 
the  world,  rendered  not  only  Adam  himself,  but  all  mankind 
liable  and  obnoxious  to  death,  verse  12.  It  is  the  same  like- 
wise with  the  to  naparctujixa,  the  offcnce,  or  the  fall,  as  the  first 
sin  of  Adam  is  generally  called,  by  which  many  are  dead,  by 
which  death  has  obtained  dominion  over  us,  and  by  which 
"judgment  is  come  upon  all  men  to  condemnation,"  verse  15, 
17,  18.  The  word  is  all  along  used  in  the  singular  number, 
implying,  says  a  judicious  writer,*  that  judgment  does  not  come 

*  Mr.  Ridgely  on  Original  Sin. 


OF  adam's  sin.  113 

upon  all  men  to  condemnation  for  all  the  sins  that  Adam  com- 
mitted, but  for  that  o?ie  offence  which  was  the  first  instance  of 
sin  in  this  lower  world.  And  as  this  seems  plain,  from  the 
scope  and  reasoning  of  the  apostle,  so  some  think  it  is  expressly- 
asserted  by  him:  for  what  we  read,  Bi/  the  offence  of  one,  may 
be  read,  Bi/  one  offence,  81  tvo^  rtapartrw;uaf 05,  judgment  came, 
upon  all  men  to  condemnation,  verse  IS,  and  so  om-  margin 
reads  it.  And  there  is  a  various  lection  in  one  place;  for  while 
most  copies  read,  i-w  rs  J^os  rta^arttu-juari.,  Bij  one  vian's  offence, 
death  reigned  by  one;  which  our  translators  follow  in  the  text, 
there  are  some  that  read  n>i  hv  ftapantoifiati,  by  one  offence; 
which  Beza  follows,  and  our  translation  in  the  margin.  Now, 
the  disobedience,  in  my  text,  being  the  same  with  that  one 
offence,  or  fall,  mentioned  before,  it  must  be  meant  of  that  first 
act  of  disobedience,  by  which  Adam  fell  from  his  original  state 
of  righteousness  and  of  happiness. 

II.  I  shall  inquire  in  what  sense  all  mankind  are  said  to  be 
made  simiers,  by  that  one  man's  disobedience ;  and  this,  I 
humbly  conceive,  is  by  imputation.  I  grant  that  we  may  be 
said  to  be  made  sinners  by  the  first  man,  as  we  derive  from  him 
natures  universally  corrupted  and  depraved;  of  which,  God 
willing,  I  shall  speak  afterwards;  but  I  cannot  help  thinking, 
that  the  proper  and  direct  intendment  of  the  apostle  here  is,  that 
we  are  made  sinners  by  the  imputation  of  the  guilt  of  the  first 
sin  to  us. 

This,  I  am  very  sensible,  is  denied  by  many.  The  Pelagians 
and  Socinians  agree  in  saying,  that  Adam's  sin  was  merely 
personal ;  that  by  it,  indeed,  as  being  the  first  sin,  it  is  said,  that 
sin  entered  into  the  world,  but  that  his  posterity  were  not  con- 
cerned in  it ;  nor  are  they  liable  to  any  punishment  for  it.  And 
with  these  do  fully  agree,  not  only  our  modern  infidels,  one  of 
whom  professes,  that  original  sin  was  ever  a  difficult  pill  with 
him  to  swallow,  his  reason  stopping  it  in  his  throat,  and  not 
having  faith  enough  to  wash  it  down;*  but  also  many  that 
would  be  accounted  good  Christians,  and  staunch  churchmen  : 
"  What  am  I  concerned,  says  one,t  in  Adam's  sin,  which  had 
never  my  will,  or  consent,  more  than  in  the  sin  of  Mahomet,  or 
Julius  Cassar;  nay,  [horresco  referens)  than  in  the  sins  of  Beel- 
zebub and  Lucifer."  They  allow,  indeed,  we  may  be  said  to 
be  made  sinners  by  Adam,  by  imitation  ;  as  Jeroboam  is  said 
by  way  of  example,  to  have  caused  Israel  to  sin ;  but  as  we 
can  no  more,  in  this  sense,  be  said  to  be  made  sinners,  by  the 
disobedience  of  the  first  man,  than  we  can  by  the  disobedience 
of  our  immediate  parents,  or  of  any  other  person ;  so  this  can- 
not, by  any  considerate  mind,  be  imagined  to  answer  the  strong 
expressions  made  use  of  in  our  context.     We  are  told,  that  by 

*  Blount's  Oracles  of  Reason,  p.  10. 
t  Glanvil  of  the  Pre-existence  of  Souls,  c.  2. 
15 


114  OF   THE    IMPUTATION 

one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin  ;  and 
therefore  death  hath  passed  upon  all  men,  because  all  sinned 
in  him :  Death  reigned  by  one,  by  this  one  man's  offence,  and 
that  over  those  who  were  incapable  of  imitating  him;  and  by 
this  one  offence,  judgment  is  come  upon  all  men  to  condem- 
nation. These  expressions  are  very  strong,  and  do  more  than 
intimate,  that  death  was  not  only  the  consequence  of  Adam's 
sin,  with  respect  to  himself,  but  is  a  misery  and  punishment 
entailed  upon  all  his  posterity,  for  that  first  sin  of  his.* 

This  is  so  manifest,  that  our  more  sober  and  thoughtful  Ar- 
minians  see  a  necessity  of  abandoning  the  foregoing  pretence,  of 
our  being  made  sinners  only  by  imitation.  They  plead,  that  we 
are  said  to  have  sinned  in  Adam,  and  to  be  made  shmers  by  his 
disobedience ;  not,  indeed,  by  the  imputation  of  his  sin  and  dis- 
obedience to  us,  but  only  by  becoming  obnoxious  to  that  death, 
which  was  the  punishment  of  his  sin.  Thus  a  late  annotator,t 
of  no  small  fame,  says,  "  This  is  the  only  sense  in  which  we  are 
said,  by  the  disobedience  of  the  first  man,  to  be  made  sinners, 
namely,  by  being  subject  to  the  death,  and  temporal  calamities 
and  miseries,  which  came  upon  all  mankind  for  Adam's  sin;  so 
that  we  sinned  in  him,  and,  by  his  disobedience,  became  sin- 
ners, by  a  metonymy  of  the  effect,  by  suffering  the  punishment 
which  God  had  threatened  to  him  for  it."  Herein  he  follows 
Grotius,  and  produces  several  scripture  testimonies  to  prove, 
that  the  Hebrew  word  signifies  both  sin  and  punishment ; 
which  pains  might  well  have  been  spared,  because  as  no  body 
denies  it,  so  it  is  nothing  to  the  purpose.  This  we  are  told,  is 
the  interpretation  given  of  these  passages  by  the  Greek  expo- 
sitors, Chrysostom,  Theodoret,  (Ecumenius,  and  Theophylact ; 
and  it  is  generally  adopted  by  the  gentlemen  on  the  other  side 
of  the  question,  Biit  besides,  that  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  how 
we  should  become  liable  to  the  punishment,  and  how  it  is  re- 
concilable with  the  justice  and  righteousness  of  God  to  inflict 
that  punishment  upon  us,  if  we  were  no  way  chargeable  with 
the  guilt  of  that  sin,  since  punishment  always  supposes  guilt. 
I  say,  besides  this,  such  an  interpretation  seems  to  reflect  ab- 
surdity upon  the  apostle  and  his  reasoning;  in  the  twelfth 
verse,  death  is  said  to  have  "  passed  upon  all,  because  all  sin- 
ned" in  Adam,  which  is  allowed,  by  the  annotator,  to  be  paral- 
lel with  my  text.  Now,  there  the  apostle  plainly  gives  a  rea- 
son why  the  sentence  of  death  passed  upon  all  men;  and  if  this 
be  the  only  meaning  of  our  being  said  to  sin  in  Adam,  it  makes 
him  guilty  of  the  absurdity  of  proving  ide7n  per  idem.  The 
sense,  according  to  this  interpretation,  must  be,  death   has 

* In  me  all 


Posterity  stands  cursed  I  Fair  patrimony, 
That  I  must  leave  ye,  sons  I — Milton. 

t  Whitby  in  Rom.  v.  12. 


OF  adam's  sin.  115 

passed  upon  all  men,  because  all  men  are  subject  to  death,  or 
death  has  passed  upon  all  men,  because  death  passes  upon  all 
men.  An  absurdity  which  so  great  a  reasoner  as  the  apostle 
Paul,  abstracting  the  consideration  of  his  being  inspired,  could 
never  have  been  guilty  of. 

There  is  therefore  certainly  something  more  than  this  intend- 
ed in  the  expression,  and  that  is,  that  we  are  made  sinners  by 
having  that  one  man's  disobedience  imputed  to  us.  Not  that 
we  actually  and  personallj''  committed  that  act  of  disobedience ; 
that  is  impossible,  since  we  did  not  then  exist ;  and  the  very 
notion  of  imputation  clears  us  from  the  ridiculous  charge  of 
such  an  absurdity;  for  the  judicial  accounting  that  to  us,  which 
is  not  inherent  in  us,  and  was  not  personally  done  by  us,  is 
what  is  meant  by  imputation ,  and  that  we  are  thus  made  sin- 
ners by  Adam's  disobedience,  appears  both  from  the  significa- 
tion of  the  word  here  made  use  of,  and  from  the  scope  of  the 
apostle  in  this  context.  When  we  are  said  to  be  made  sinners, 
the  word  Karsja^jjcfar,  properly  signifies  the  making  us  such  by 
a  judicial  act.  We  are  constituted  sinners,  i.  e.  in  the  divine 
economy  and  administration  accounted  as  criminals.  That  act 
of  disobedience  is  reckoned  to  and  charged  upon  us;  and  we  are 
dealt  with  as  if  we  had  actually  sinned.  This  signification  the 
word  will  very  well  bear;  and  that  it  is  the  meaning  of  it  here, 
seems  very  plain  to  me,  from  this  whole  discourse  of  the  apos- 
tle. We  are  so  made  sinners,  as  to  be  made  liable  to  death, 
the  punishment  of  sin :  this  has  passed  upon  all  men,  because 
all  are  reckoned  to  have  sinned  in  Adam.  It  has  reigned,  from 
Adam,  successively,  in  all  the  various  generations  of  the  world, 
and  that  even  over  them  who  had  not  sinned,  after  the  simili- 
tude of  Adam's  transgression,  or  infants  who  die  before  they 
come  under  the  guilt  of  any  actual  sin :  how  could  they  be  made 
liable  to  death,  the  punishment  of  sin,  if  they  had  not  been 
judged  or  reckoned  to  have  sinned  ?  Does  not  the  supposition 
reflect  upon  the  justice  of  God,  in  punishing  men  for  an  act 
they  were  no  way  concerned  in  ?  Nay,  does  it  not  imply  a  con- 
tradiction, since  punishment  always  supposes  guilt?  Whether 
God,  by  his  sovereign  power,  might  not  have  inflicted  death  on 
an  innocent  creature,  I  do  not  dispute;  but  that  an  innocent 
creature  should  be  guilty  of  death,  seems,  to  me,  a  contradic- 
tion ;  for  death  being  the  wages  of  sin,  to  be  guilty  of  death,  is 
some  way  or  other  to  have  sinned.  We  could  not  sin  in  our 
own  persons  before  we  existed;  and  therefore  if,  by  the  first 
man's  disobedience,  we  are  made  guilty  of  death,  it  must  be  by 
the  imputation  of  the  guilt  of  that  sin  to  us.  This  also  seems 
plain,  from  the  verse  immediately  preceding  my  text,  where,  by 
the  one  man's  offence,  judgment  is  said  to  have  come  upon  all 
men  to  condemnation. — Judgment  is  not  in  the  original ;  but 
it  Ls  not  material,  whether  we  supply  sin,  according  to  some ; 


116  OF    THE    IIMPUTATION 

ov  judgment,  according  to  others;  for,  which  ever  of  them  is 
meant,  it  is  expressly  said  to  be  to  condemnation;  "which 
word,"  says  a  learned  writer,?  "cannot,  with  any  manner  of 
consistency,  be  taken  in  any  other  than  a  forensic  sense  ;  and, 
perhaps,  it  is  never  used  in  any  other  sense  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment." Now,  we  are  thus  brought  under  condemnation  by  the 
offence  of  one,  even  Adam ;  and  for  one  person  to  be  condemned 
for  the  offence  of  another,  must  necessarily  argue  the  imputa- 
tion of  that  offence  to  him,  otherwise  the  condemnation  would 
not  be  just.  If,  therefore,  all  mankind  are  liable  to  judgment 
or  condemnation  by  this  one  offence,  although  not  actually 
committed  by  them,  it  must  necessarily  be  placed  to  their  ac- 
count, i.  e.  imputed  to  them. 

This  further  appears  from  the  manifest  scope  of  the  apostle 
in  this  context,  which  is  to  illustrate  the  doctrine  of  justification, 
of  which  I  have  treated  before,  and  to  represent  the  way  in 
which  we  are  made  partakers  of  the  righteousness  of  Christ. 
This  is  the  professed  design  of  the  comparison  he  here  makes 
between  Adam  and  Christ :  it  is  as  if  he  had  said,  as  Adam 
transmits  sin  and  death  to  all  his  natural  posterity,  so  Christ 
conveys  righteousness  and  justification  of  life  to  all  his  spiritual 
seed.  This  he  illustrates  in  the  preceding  verses,  and  gives  us 
the  sum  of  the  whole  in  my  text,  that  "  as  by  one  man's  dis- 
obedience many  were  made  sinners,  so  by  the  obedience  of  One 
are  many  made  righteous."  The  way  of  conveyance  in  both 
is  the  same.  Now,  how  are  we  made  righteous  by  the  obe- 
dience of  Christ,  but  by  the  imputation  of  that  obedience  to  us  ? 
And  if  so,  when  we  are  said  to  be  made  sinners  by  the  disobe- 
dience of  the  first  man,  the  antithesis  requires  that  it  should  be 
meant  of  our  being  made  sinners,  by  the  imputation  of  his  dis- 
obedience to  us.  This  is  so  necessary  a  consequence  from  the 
apostle's  reasoning,  that  the  deniers  of  the  imputation  of  Adam's 
sin,  of  course  deny  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  imputed 
righteousness:  and,  perhaps,  it  is  from  the  pride  of  men,  in 
refusing  to  submit  to  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  and  going 
about  to  establish  a  righteousness  of  their  own,  that  they  have 
set  themselves  so  much  to  oppose  the  imputation  of  Adam's 
sin.  This,  in  particular,  seems  to  have  been  the  case  of  Socinus, 
who  confesses  that  this  discourse  of  the  apostle  gives  great 
countenance  to  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  the  imputation  of 
the  righteousness  of  Christ.t  But  not  relishing  that,  he  sets 
himself,  with  all  his  cunning  and  artifice,  to  oppose  the  impu- 
tation of  the  sin  of  Adam  to  his  natural  posterity,  being  very 
sensible  that  if  that  is  admitted,  the  imputationof  the  righteous- 
ness of  Christ  to  his  spiritual  seed  will  unavoidably  follow,  from 
the  reasoning  of  the  apostle  in  this  context.  But  it  is  time  to 
proceed. 

*  Mr.  Rijigely  on  Original  Sin.  t  Socinus  de  Servatore,  Par.  4,  cap.  6. 


OF  adam's  sin.  117 

III.  I  shall  consider  the  o-ror/n^  of  this  dispensation;  and  this 
is,  that  Adam,  in  his  first  act  of  disobedience,  was  not  only  the 
natural  root,  but  the  federal  head  of  all  his  posterity.  I  take 
it  for  granted  that  those  words,  containing  God's  prohibition, 
"  Of  every  tree  of  the  garden  thou  mayest  freely  eat,  but  of  the 
tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil  thou  shalt  not  eat ;  for 
in  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die,"  Gen.  ii. 
16,  17,  are  to  be  considered  not  only  as  expressive  of  a  law, 
strictly  speaking,  or  a  mere  declaration  of  the  will  of  God,  as  a 
Sovereign,  but  as  containing  in  them  a  covenant  transaction 
between  God  and  Adam:  it  is  not,  indeed,  styled  there  a  cove- 
nant;  but  it  is  usually  called  so  by  divines,  and  it  really  was 
so :  for  in  the  threatening  of  death  annexed,  in  case  of  disobe- 
dience, there  was  included  a  promise,  in  case  of  obedience,  of 
the  continuance  of  his  then  happy  circumstances,  and  his  con- 
firmation therein,  if  not  of  a  superadded  happiness :  this  was 
proposed  to  Adam,  and  he  agreed  and  consented  to  it,  which  is 
the  formal  nature  of  a  covenant.  The  sum  was  this ;  that  if  he 
persevered  in  his  innocency,  the  grace  and  strength  he  had 
should  be  continued  to  him,  and  he  should  live  and  be  happy; 
but  if  he  disobeyed  God,  he  should  lose  the  advantages  he  was 
then  possessed  of,  and  be  subject  to  death  and  misery,  both  in 
this  and  in  another  state.  This,  I  think,  is  sufficiently  proved 
by  a  reverend  and  learned  writer,*  whose  praise  is  in  the 
churches,  so  that  I  need  not  enlarge  upon  it. 

Now,  in  this  covenant,  Adam  was  considered  not  as  a  pri- 
vate, but  a  public  person,  sustaining  the  persons  of  all  man- 
kind :  he  was  constituted  the  head  and  representative  of  all 
his  posterity,  and  we  were  in  him,  not  only  seminally,  but 
federally  also :  we  were  in  him  as  our  natural  root  and  com- 
mon parent,  from  whom  we  descend  by  natural  generation: 
we  were  in  his  loins,  and  a  part  of  him,  when  he  fell,  and, 
upon  this  account,  his  disobedience  may  be  reckoned  ours ;  as 
Levi,  not  born  till  many  years  after,  is  said  to  have  paid  tithes 
to  Melchisedec,  because  he  was  in  the  loins  of  Abraham,  Heb. 
vii.  9,  10.  But  the  principal  gromid  of  the  imputation  of  his 
sin  to  us  is,  that  we  were  in  him  as  our  federal  head  and  re- 
presentative. If  this  can  be  proved,  the  doctrine  we  are  con- 
firming will  be  established  upon  a  firm  and  unshaken  founda- 
tion. And  we  need,  I  think,  look  no  further  for  the  proof  of 
it  than  our  context:  for  why  is  the  emphasis  all  along  laid  upon 
this  one  man,  as  him,  by  whom,  and  this  one  man's  sin,  as 
that,  by  which  we  are  made  sinners,  and  subject  to  death  and 
condemnation  ?  Why  were  we  not  made  sinners  by  Eve,  who 
was  first  in  the  transgression,  and  was  a  root  of  propagation  as 

*  Mr.  Ridgely  on  Original  Sin.     See  also  Bishop  Bull's  Ser.  Vol.  III.  Disc.  5. 


1X8  OF   THE    IMPUTATION 

well  as  Adam?  Why  not  by  the  sins  he  committed  after  his 
fall,  when  he  still  continued  to  be  the  natural  root  of  mankind, 
and  we  were  all  still  seminally  in  him?  Nay,  why  not  by  the 
sins  of  our  intermediate  parents  ?  It  is  very  difficult,  if  not  im- 
possible to  assign  any  other  reason  for  this,  but  because  Adam 
was  considered  as  our  public  covenant-head  and  representa- 
tive, and  that  he  himself  ceased  to  be  so,  upon  his  breach  of 
the  covenant  by  his  first  act  of  disobedience.  And  this  seems 
the  direct  intendment  of  the  apostle,  verse  14,  where  he  calls 
Adam,  the  figure  or  type  of  him  that  ivas  to  come.  Some  by 
him  that  was  to  come,  understand  mankind;  and  give  us  this 
as  the  sense  that  all  are,  by  Adam's  disobedience,  subject  to 
death,  even  infants  that  never  sinned  after  the  similitude  of 
Adam's  transgression,  because,  when  he  committed  that  act, 
he  was  the  type  of  all  men  that  were  to  come,  and  were  to 
succeed  him,  and  they  were  all  represented  in  his  person;  and 
so  is  an  express  assertion  of  the  truth  we  are  pleading  for. 
But  it  will  unavoidably  follow,  from  the  common  interpreta- 
tion, if  by  him  that  was  to  come,  we  do,  as  I  think  we  ought 
to,  understand  Christ.  For  in  what  was  Adam  a  type  of 
Christ?  Not  as  he  was  a  man  certainly,  consisting  of  soul  and 
body,  since,  in  that  respect,  all  who  lived  before  Christ  might 
as  justly  be  called  types  of  him  as  Adam;  but  it  was  in  some 
peculiar  circumstance  in  which  he  was  distinguished  from  all 
others,  and  that  is,  he  was  the  federal  head  and  representative 
of  his  posterity.  It  was  in  this  regard,  that  in  the  covenant 
transactions  between  God  and  him,  and  in  the  consequent 
event  of  those  transactions,  he  was  a  public  person;  so  Christ 
the  antitype  certainly  was.  He  is  the  Head  of  the  new  cove- 
nant, and  acted  as  a  public  Person  and  the  Representative  of 
all  that  the  Father  had  given  him:  he  dealt  with  God  for 
them,  as  their  Head  and  Representative,  died  for  them,  rose 
for  them,  entered  within  the  veil  for  them,  and  did  all  that  he 
did  for  them;  and  in  this  regard  was  Adam  his  type;  God 
dealt  with  him,  and  he  acted  as  the  federal  head  and  represen- 
tative of  his  posterity;  so  that  what  he  did  in  that  station,  and 
under  that  character,  we  may  be  said  to  have  done  in  him; 
and  what  was  done  in  him,  may  be  said  to  have  been  done  to 
us  in  him.  And  this  appears  from  the  subsequent  reasoning 
of  the  apostle,  where  he  considers  the  influence  of  these  two 
heads,  what  is  conveyed  by  them,  and  the  manner  of  convey- 
ing it  to  those  that  are  respectively  in  them;  that  as  Adam,  the 
type  and  head  of  the  first  covenant,  conveys  sin  and  death 
to  all  that  were  in  him  naturally,  so  Christ,  the  antitype  and 
the  head  of  the  new  covenant,  conveys  righteousness  and  life 
to  all  that  are  in  him  spiritually;  so  that  we  need  not  look  any 
further  than  to  this  discourse  of  the  apostle,  to  prove  that  Adam 


OF  adam's  sin.  119 

was  the  federal  head  and  representative  of  all  his  posterity. 
«  But  this,"  says  a  right  reverend  expositor,*  who  represents  it 
as  a  harsh  and  inconceivable  opinion,  "is  only  a  single  proof; 
and,  when  we  have  not  a  variety  of  places,  proving  any  point  in 
which  one  gives  light  to  another,  we  cannot  be  so  sure  of  the 
meaning  of  any  one  place,  as  to  raise  a  theory,  or  found  a  doc- 
trine upon  it."  To  which  I  answer:  that  if  this  was  the  case, 
and  we  had  no  other  proof,  this  is  not  a  just  exception,  be- 
cause a  single  proof,  if  it  is  valid,  is  and  ought  to  be  esteemed 
a  sutficient  proof  But  this  really  is  not  the  case,  for  we  have 
other  scriptures  that  give  light  to,  and  tend  to  confirm  this 
truth;  and  particularly  where  the  apostle,  1  Cor.  xv.  45,  com- 
pares Adam  and  Christ  together,  under  the  notions  of  the  first 
and  second  man,  and  the  first  and  last  Adam.  In  what  respect 
is  Christ  called  the  second  man?  It  cannot  be  meant  in  order 
of  time  and  number,  for  so  Cain,  and  not  Christ,  was  the  second 
man :  it  must  therefore  be  in  some  respect,  in  which  there  were 
but  two  men,  in  which  there  was  one,  and  but  one,  before  him; 
and  it  is  very  difficult  to  conceive  in  what  respect  this  could 
be,  unless  as  he  was  a  public  person,  and  head  of  all  his  spirit- 
ual seed.  As,  if  Christ  was  a  second  public  person,  there  must 
have  been  a  first  public  person,  and  that  must  be  Adam,  since 
no  man,  if  not  Adam,  was  ever  the  public  head  of  all  man- 
kind :  thus  he  is  also  called  the  last  Jidam,  because  typified 
by  the  first,  and  bearing  some  resemblance  to  him.  But  in 
what  does  this  resemblance  consist,  if  not  in  this,  that  as  Adam 
was  a  public  person,  and  head  of  the  first  covenant,  and  as 
such  conveyed  sin  and  death  to  his  natural  posterity,  so  Christ 
is  a  public  person,  and  head  of  the  new  covenant,  and  the 
meritorious  as  well  as  effective  principal  of  the  resurrection,  by 
which  his  spiritual  seed  shall  have  a  full  and  complete  deliver- 
ance from  all  the  effects  of  Adam's  sin?  "  For  as  in  Adam  all 
die,  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive,"  1  Cor.  xv.  22.  From 
all  which  it  appears,  that  Adam  was  not  only  the  natural  root, 
but  the  federal  head  and  representative  of  his  natural  posterity, 
and  this  is  the  ground  and  reason  of  the  imputation  of  the  guilt 
of  the  first  sin  to  us,  or  of  our  being  made  sinners  by  his  disobe- 
dience. 

IV.  It  remains,  that  I  endeavour  to  vindicate  the  justice  and 
equity  of  this  dispensation.  And  here  there  is  a  mighty  outcry 
raised,  as  if  we  represented  God  dealing  with  mankind  in  a  way 
that  would  be  accounted  very  unjust  and  severe,  in  all  methods 
of  human  government.  A  certain  writer,  who  thinks  himself 
qualified  to  be  an  advocate  for  reason,  as  a  sufficient  guide  in 
matters  of  religion,  and  insolently  presumes  to  direct  his  Maker 
what  was  fit,  or  unfit  for  him  to  do,  has  boldly  pronounced  such 

*  Bishop  Burnet's  Exposition  of  the  Ninth  Article  of  the  Church  of  England. 


120  OF   THE   IMPUTATION 

a  constitution  of  things  to  be  wrong,  that  mankind  is  not  only 
unkindly,  but  harshly  and  unequally  dealt  with,  and  insinuates 
that  we  have  not  fair  play  for  our  lives,  for  our  souls.  But 
where  lies  the  injustice  and  inequality  of  this  constitution  of 
things?  Is  it  that  one  should  be  punished  for  the  sin  of  an- 
other? This  is  far  from  being  unjust  in  all  cases.  The  great 
God  himself,  who  can  do  no  wrong,  but  is  righteous  in  all  his 
tvays,  and  holy  in  all  his  works,  has  threatened  in  the  second 
commandment,  to  visit  the  iniquities  of  fathers  upon  their  chil- 
dren; and  we  have  many  instances  of  it  recorded  in  Scripture. 
Nor  did  the  Pagans  think  this  inconsistent  with  the  divine  per- 
fections, as  might  be  proved,  by  various  testimonies,  both  from 
their  philosophers  and  poets.  Nor  is  it  reckoned  unjust  in  hu- 
man governments,  as  in  the  case  of  forfeitures  by  high  treason. 

If  it  is  objected,  that  it  is  delivered  as  a  standing  rule  of  divine 
justice,  that  none  should  be  punished  but  for  his  own  sins, 
Ezek.  xviii.  20:  it  is  answered,  that  supposing  this  should  be 
granted  to  be  the  standing  rule  of  divine  justice,  in  ordinary 
cases,  (for  that  it  does  not  hold  universally,  appears  from  what 
has  but  now  been  delivered)  yet  it  does  not  come  up  to  the  case 
before  us,  because  no  man  is  now  the  federal  head  and  repre- 
sentative of  his  posterity,  as  Adam  was.  That  rule  holds  good 
only  in  punishments  inflicted  for  another  man's  crime,  on  those 
who  have  no  manner  of  concern  hi  it.  But  that  is  not  the  pre- 
sent case,  since  it  has  been  proved,  that  by  Adam's  offence  we 
are  all  made  sinners,  and  that  upon  this  ground,  that  we  were 
all  considered  in  him,  and  as  sinning  in  him,  as  our  head  and 
representative. 

But  it  will  be  said,  that  this  ground  is,  indeed,  the  ground 
and  foundation  of  the  charge  of  injustice  and  inequality  in  this 
procedure;  for  where  is  the  justice  of  Adam's  being  considered 
as  our  representative,  and  of  our  being  concluded  by  what  he 
did,  when  we  never  chose  him,  nor  had  he  our  consent  to  be 
our  representative?  To  this  it  is  answered,  that  to  make  Adam 
our  public  representative,  there  was  no  necessity  that  such  a 
relation  should  be  conferred  upon  him,  by  our  explicit  consent. 
It  is  sufficient  that  it  was  done  by  the  righteous  appointment  of 
God,  who  had  a  sovereign  authority  to  constitute  Adam  the 
head  of  all  mankind.  God  chose  him,  and  there  is  the  highest 
reason  we  should  acquiesce  in  the  choice,  if  we  consider,  that 
God  made  as  good  a  choice,  as  men  could  possibly  have  made 
for  themselves.  Adam  was  not  only  the  first  man,  and  common 
father  of  mankind,  and  therefore  entitled  to  that  privilege  and 
honour,  by  the  law  of  nature,  as  we  find  the  first  heads  of  tribes 
frequently  appearing  as  public  persons,  instead  of  the  rest,  but 
he  was  as  perfect  as  ever  any  after  could  have  been.  He  had 
a  perfection  of  strength  to  fulfil  the  conditions  of  the  covenant; 
and,  being  the  common  father  of  all,  had  not  only  the  law  of 


OF  adaim's  stn.  121 

nature,  but  tlmt  of  love  and  conscience,  which  parents  generally 
have  to  their  children's  good,  as  much  as  to  their  own,  to  oblige 
and  engage  him  to  be  faithful. 

But,  admitting  him  to  be  ever  so  well  qualified  for  this  trust, 
it  may  be  said,  we  never  consented  to  his  transacting  for  us; 
and  therefore  it  is  hard  we  should  be  concluded  by  what  he  did. 
But  is  there  any  thing  peculiar  in  this  regard  to  this  first 
covenant  transaction  with  Adam?  Have  we  not  frequent  in- 
stances of  it  in  after-covenant  transactions?  When  God  entered 
into  covenant  with  Abraham  and  his  seed,  and  appointed  cir- 
cumcision to  be  the  seal  of  it,  were  not  the  seed  obliged  by  it, 
although  incapable  of  giving  an  actual  consent  to  it?  How  else 
could  every  child  that  was  uncircumcised  be  said  to  break  that 
covenant  ?  So  in  that  covenant  agreement  between  God  and 
the  people  of  Israel,  it  is  said,  "  Neither  with  you  only  do  I 
make  this  covenant,  and  this  oath,  but  with  him  that  standeth 
here  with  us  this  day  before  the  Lord  our  God,  and  also  with 
him  that  is  not  here  with  us  this  day,"  Deut.  xxix.  14,  15;  that 
is,  says  Bishop  Kidder,  with  your  posterity;  not  only  with  those 
that  are  now  in  being,  but  are  absent,  but  with  those  that  are 
afterwards  to  proceed  from  you,  and  are  not  yet  born,  and 
therefore  are  not  capable  of  consenting  to  this  agreement;  and 
so  it  is  with  covenants  and  contracts  made  between  man  and 
man,  at  this  day.  Plow  often  do  men  oblige  their  children  and 
heirs,  even  those  that  are  unborn,  to  keep  the  conditions  of 
those  contracts?  And  do  any  complain  of  the  injustice  of  this 
procedure?  That  our  first  father  therefore  should  transact  for 
us,  without  our  consent,  is  so  far  from  being  unjust  and  unequal, 
that  it  is  justified  by  the  common  sentiments  and  practice  of 
mankind. 

If,  therefore,  there  is  any  injustice,  it  must  be  in  the  matter 
of  the  covenant  he  was  placed  under:  but  this  cannot  be,  since 
God  therein  required  nothing  of  him,  but  what  he  was  obliged 
to,  by  the  law  of  his  creation,  as  well  as  what  he  was  able  to 
perform.  The  most  perfect  and  exact  obedience  was  due  from 
man  to  God,  the  author  of  his  being,  by  the  law  of  nature;  and 
the  transgression  of  this  law  of  nature  deserved  wrath,  and 
punishment  was  due  to  it  from  the  justice  of  God.  In  requir- 
ing such  an  obedience,  therefore,  and  that  under  the  penalty  of 
death,  there  could  be  no  injustice.  But  then  if  it  is  considered, 
that  God  likewise  promised  to  reward  this  obedience,  that  was 
due  by  the  law  of  his  creation,  not  only  with  the  continuance 
of  his  present  happy  circumstances,  but  a  superadded  felicity, 
which  man  could  have  no  claim  to,  but  from  the  free  promise 
of  God,  it  is  so  far  from  being  an  instance  of  severity,  that  it 
is  an  instance  of  infinite  grace  and  condescending  goodness  in 
God.  This,  some  will  say,  is  true,  with  respect  to  Adam  him- 
self; but  if  Adam  is  considered  in  all  this  as  a  public  person 

16 


122  OF   THE   IMPUTATION 

and  representative,  it  is  equally  true  with  respect  to  us,  since, 
if  lie  had  stood,  we  had  as  certainly  received  the  benefit,  as,  by 
his  fall,  we  are  involved  in  his  guilt  and  ruin.  Would  it  have 
been  just  with  God  to  have  judged  us  innocent  in  innocent 
Adam?  And  is  it  unjust  in  God  to  judge  us  guilty  in  guilty 
Adam?  I  shall  take  leave  here  to  produce  the  sentiments  of 
two  very  great  men.  The  one  an  eminent  divine  :*  "  It  is  an 
equal  rule,"  says  he,  "  that  by  the  same  law,  by  virtue  of  which 
one  may  come  to  receive  good  freely,  he  should,  upon  the  same 
terms,  receive  the  contrary  evil  deservedly,  upon  offending.  As 
Job  said, '  Shall  we  receive  good  from  God,  and  not  evil  ?'  so 
may  we  say  here,  should  we  have  received  the  happy  fruits  of 
Adam's  obedience  if  he  had  stood  ?  And  should  we  not  re- 
ceive the  contrary,  if  he  fell,  through  the  guilt  of  his  sin?  If 
God  had  made  the  law  only  to  have  received  evil  upon  his 
offending,  who  could  have  found  fault  ?  much  less  when  he  put 
him  into  an  estate,  which  would  have  proved  so  happy  for  us, 
if  he  had  not  offended."  And  he  goes  on  to  vindicate  the  jus- 
tice of  God,  in  constituting  Adam  our  federal  head  and  repre- 
sentative, by  the  following  similitude :  "  Suppose,"  says  he,  "  a 
king  should  raise  up  a  man,  out  of  nothing,  to  a  great  and  noble 
condition,  which  he  also  gave  him,  not  for  his  own  person  only, 
but  for  his  seed  for  ever,  might  he  not  make  this  covenant  with 
him,  that  if  he  turned  traitor,  he  should  forfeit  all  for  himself, 
and  his  posterity  likewise  be  made  slaves?  And  would  not 
this  law  justly  take  hold  of  them,  though  they  were  not  then 
born?  Yes,  God  will  justify  his  proceedings  by  this  course  in 
the  v/orld,  generally  in  all  kingdoms;  which  shows,  that  it  is 
the  law  of  nature,  and  that  there  is  a  justice  in  it ;  for  the  law 
makes  the  blood  of  a  nobleman,  guilty  of  treason,  tainted  till 
restored."  The  other  is  an  eminent  lawyer,!  who  was  well 
skilled  in  the  nature  of  laws  and  penalties,  and  the  reasons  of 
them:  '^God  made  man  righteous  at  first,"  says  he,  "and  gave 
him  a  righteous  law;  and,  inasmuch  as  man  owed  an  infinite 
subjection  to  the  Author  of  his  being,  he  owed  an  exact  obe- 
dience to  this  lav/  of  his  Maker:  yet  God  was  pleased  to  give 
him  this  law,  not  only  as  the  rule  of  his  obedience,  but  as  a 
covenant  of  life  and  death,  wherein  the  first  man  made  a  stipu- 
lation for  himself  and  his  posterity;  and  this  was  just,  for  he 
had  in  himself  the  race  of  all  mankind.  All  succeeding  genera- 
tions are  but  pieces  of  Adam,  who  had  not,  or  could  have,  their 
being  but  from  him,  and  so  it  was  but  reasonable  and  just  for 
him  to  contract  for  all  his  posterity;  and  as  it  was  just,  in  re- 
spect of  the  person  contracting,  so  it  was  in  respect  of  the  man- 
ner of  the  contract.     The  law,  which  was  his  covenant,  was  a 

*  Dr.  Goodwin,  Vol.  III.  p.  18. 

t  Lord  Chief  Justice  Hale's  Meditation  upon  the  Lord's  prayer. 


OF  adam's  sin.  123 

just  and  righteous  law;  a  law  suitable  to  the  endowments  and 
power  of  his  nature.  Again,  the  blessedness  which,  by  his 
obedience  he  was  to  hold,  was  not  of  his  own  creating  or  ob- 
taining; it  was  the  free  gift  of  God;  and  it  is  but  reasonable  that 
the  Lord  of  this  gift  might  give  it  in  what  manner  he  pleased ; 
and  it  could  not  be  unjust,  that  the  Lord  who  gave  him  this 
blessedness,  should  give  it  him  under  what  conditions  he  pleased ; 
but  he  gave  it  him  under  most  reasonable  and  just  conditions, 
viz.  an  obedience  to  a  most  just  and  reasonable  law,  which  suited 
with  the  ability  and  perfection  of  his  nature.  Therefore  when, 
upon  the  breach  of  the  covenant  by  man,  he  withdrew  that 
blessedness  from  him  and  his  posterity,  he  did  no  more  than 
what  was  most  just  for  him  to  do.  Thus  we  stand  guilty  of 
that  sin  which  our  first  father  committed,  and  are  deprived  of 
that  blessedness  and  life  which  our  first  father  had,  and  the  pri- 
vation of  that  blessedness  and  immortality  is  death."  Thus  ad- 
mirably does  that  very  great  man  clear  the  justice  of  God  in  this 
affair,  and  let  us  see  that  it  is  exactly  conformable  to  the  laws 
of  reason  and  equity.  I  will  only  add,  that  if  this  course  yet 
seems  severe,  let  it  be  considered,  that  God  has  been  pleased, 
out  of  his  abundant  goodness,  to  establish  the  same  rule  and 
method  for  our  salvation  and  recovery.  My  text  tells  us,  that 
"  as  by  one  man's  disobedience  many  were  made  sinners;  so  by 
the  obedience  of  one  shall  many  be  made  righteous."  God  has 
ordained  Christ  in  our  nature  to  be  a  second  Adam;  he  is  all 
along,  in  this  discourse,  considered  by  the  apostle  as  a  public 
person,  and  federal  head  and  representative,  as  the  first  Adam 
was ;  he  sustains  the  persons  of  all  that  were  given  to  him  by 
the  Father;  and  God  is  graciously  pleased  to  reckon  what  was 
done  by  him  as  done  by  them,  as  he  looks  upon  what  was  done 
by  Adam  as  done  by  us ;  and  life  and  righteousness  are  con- 
veyed from  the  one  to  all  true  believers,  his  spiritual  seed,  as 
sin  and  death  are  conveyed  from  the  other,  to  all  his  natural 
posterity.  So  that  here  is  no  just  ground  of  complaint,  since 
there  is  sufficient  compensation  made  by  Christ  for  what  we  lost 
in  Adam,  and  the  mighty  benefit  redounds  to  us,  in  the  same 
way  too,  that  Adam's  sin  does ;  for  as  this  is  imputed  to  us 
to  condemnation,  so  is  the  righteousness  of  Christ  to  justifica- 
tion of  life. 

APPLICATION. 

From  the  whole  we  may  observe,  that  the  doctrine  of  the  im- 
putation of  Adam's  sin  is  no  novel  doctrine,  but  a  part  of  pri- 
mitive Christianity.  It  was,  indeed,  acknowledged  by  the  Jews, 
as  the  learned  Buxtorf  has  proved,  by  several  testimonies  out  of 
their  writers,  and  as  bishop  Burnet,  in  his  exposition  of  the 
ninth  article,  allows  there  is  good  reason  to  believe,  although  he 
reckons  it  one  of  the  odd  things  found  amongst  the  Cabbalists. 


124  OF    THE    IMPUTATION 

But  it  is  plain,  from  this  discourse  of  the  apostle,  that  it  was  an 
article  of  primitive  Christianity;  and  that  it  was  the  sentiment  of 
the  primitive  chm'ch,  may  be  proved,  not  only  by  citations*  from 
particular  fathers,  but  the  concurrent  testimony  of  an  African 
Synod,  held  in  the  year  254,  and  in  which  were  present  three- 
score and  six  bishops,  A  question  was  proposed  to  them  con- 
cernmg  the  time  of  the  baptism  of  infants.  Whether  it  might  be 
done  before  the  eighth  day  after  their  birth,  according  to  the 
law  of  circumcision?  The  Synod  agreed  that  it  might;  and, 
amongst  their  reasons,  they  have  these  words  to  our  purpose  : 
"  An  infant  is  not  to  be  prohibited  from  this  grace,  who,  being 
but  just  born,  is  guilty  of  no  sin,  but  of  original,  which  he  con- 
tracted from  Adam,  who  ought  the  more  readily  to  be  received 
to  the  remission  of  sins,  because  not  his  own  but  another's  sins 
are  remitted  to  him."  And  this,  to  be  sure,  is  the  good  old  Pro- 
testant doctrine,  which,  at  the  Reformation,  was  rescued  from 
that  darkness  and  corruption  under  which  it  lay  obscured  in  the 
times  of  Popery.  And  this,  many  think,  is  what  the  Church  of 
England  means,  when,  in  her  ninth  Article,  she  asserts  original 
sin  to  deserve  God's  wrath  and  damnation.  Let  us  therefore 
endeavour  to  confirm  our  faith  in,  and  hold  fast  this  doctrine, 
and  not  suffer  ourselves  to  be  moved  from  it,  by  the  slight  and 
cunning  craftiness  of  any  who  lie  in  wait  to  deceive.  Let  us 
learn,  from  hence,  to  be  deeply  humbled  before  God,  for  that 
first  act  of  disobedience,  which  has  involved  us  all  in  guilt  and 
ruin.  Since  we  are  all  by  that  act  made  sinners,  we  must  all 
necessarily  be  children  of  wrath  by  nature  ;  and  therefore  let  us 
not  dare  to  murmur  and  repine  against  God,  but  acknowledge 
the  righteousness  of  that  sentence,  which  has  passed  upon  us, 
and  justify  God  under  all  the  evils  and  afilictions  we  are  ex- 
posed to,  or  exercised  with.  Abstracting  the  consideration  of 
the  corruption  of  our  natures,  and  our  m.anifold  actual  transgres- 
sions, there  is  enough  in  that  first  sin,  and  our  concernment  in  it, 
to  vindicate  the  equity  of  the  divine  proceedings,  in  the  greatest 
afflictive  evils  that  befal  us  here.  Hereby  all  the  world  is  justly 
become  guilty  before  God,  and  that  is  reason  sufficient  why  every 
mouth  should  be  stopped.  Let  this  then  fill  our  souls  with  an 
holy  admiration  of  and  thankfulness  for  the  wisdom  and  grace 
of  God,  in  providing  a  second  Adam,  by  whose  obedience  we 
may  be  made  righteous,  as  by  Adam's  disobedience  we  were 
made  sinners.     And  as  what  has  been  said  shows  us  our  need 

*  I  shall  only  give  a  remarkable  testimony  of  Chrysostom :  The  reason  of  the 
apostle's  saying  so  often  [by  One]  is,  that  when  a  Jew  shall  ask,  How  should  the 
world  be  saved  by  the  well-doing  of  One  (the  righteousness  of  Christ  /)  thou 
niightest  be  able  to  say  to  him,  How  should  the  world  be  condemned  by  one 
Adam's  sinning.  By  which  words  (says  Dr.  Hammond,  on  Psal.  li.  5,)  it  appears 
that  this  doctrine  of  the  wliole  world's  being  under  condemnation  for  the  sin  of 
Adam,  was  such  as  he  thought  no  Jew  would  doubt  of,  for  else  it  could  be  no  fit 
a\eans  to  silence  his  objection  against  the  redemption  of  the  whole  world  by  Christ. 


OF   ORIGINAL   CORRUPTION.  125 

of  Christ,  so  it  should  make  us  fervent  in  praying  to  God,  for 
the  blessed  Spirit,  to  reveal  Christ  to  us,  and  work  in  us  that 
faith,  by  which  we  may  be  united  to  him,  that,  being  found  in 
him,  we  may  not  only  be  acquitted  from  the  guilt  of  the  first 
man's  disobedience,  but  may  be  brought,  through  the  abun- 
dance of  his  grace,  and  the  gift  of  righteousness,  to  reign  in  life, 
by  one,  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  ; 

To  whom  be  glory  and  dominion,  for  ever  and  ever.    Amen. 


OF    ORIGINAL   CORRUPTION. 
SERMON  II. 

Psalm  li.  5. — Behold  I  was  sliapen  in  iniquity,  and  in  sin  did  my  mother  con- 

ceive  me. 

The  knowledge  of  our  fall  in  Adam,  and  of  the  dreadful  conse- 
quences of  it,  and  our  recovery  by  Christ,  are  the  two  great 
hinges,  whereon  the  whole  structure  of  the  Christian  religion 
moves,  and  which  go  linked  together,  as  it  were,  hand  in  hand. 
As  the  former  cannot  be  thoroughly  understood  without  taking 
a  survey  of  the  latter,  so  the  latter  cannot  be  laid  hold  on 
without  a  sound  knowledge  of  the  former.  It  is  therefore  of 
very  great  importance  and  concern  to  us,  both  to  be  established 
in  the  belief  of  the  doctrine,  and  to  acquaint  ourselves  with  the 
nature  of  original  sin:  and  as  the  province  assigned  me  is  to 
be  assisting  herein,  I  proposed  to  consider  the  two  parts  of 
original  sin,  that  which  is  imputed  to  us,  and  that  which  is  in- 
herent in  us,  a  little  distinctly.  The  former  of  these  was  the 
subject  of  my  preceding  discourse,  where  I  endeavoured  to 
prove,  that  the  first  man's  disobedience  is  imputed  to  us,  and 
to  vindicate  the  justice  and  equity  of  it.  And  I  am  now  to 
consider  the  other  part  of  original  sin,  namely,  the  corruption 
of  nature  which  is  derived  to  us  from  him.  And,  that  I  may 
render  the  words  that  have  been  read  subservient  to  this  pur- 
pose, I  shall,  through  divine  assistance,  inquire  into  the  true 
meaning  of  them;  and  then  endeavour  to  open  and  vindicate 
the  great  truth  contained  in  them. 

This  is  one  of  David's  penitential  psalms,  and  the  occasion 
of  it  was  his  sin  with  Bathsheba,  as  we  may  see  in  the  title, 
"  To  the  chief  Musician,  A  Psalm  of  David,  when  Nathan  the 
prophet  came  unto  him,  after  he  had  gone  in  to  Bathsheba." 
The  story  we  have  at  large  recorded  in  his  history.  2  Sam. 
xi.  12.  It  was  a  very  heinous  and  complicated  wickedness,  of 
which  he  had  been  guilty,  adultery  and  murder,  and  yet  he  is 


126  OF   ORIGINAL    CORKUPTION. 

supposed  to  have  continued  in  it  for  a  considerable  time,  with- 
out any  expressions  of  remorse  or  sorrow  for  it,  till  God  sent 
Nathan  to  convince  him  of,  and  reprove  him  for  it:  but  his 
conscience  being,  by  this  means  awakened,  he  became  truly 
humbled,  and,  as  a  testimony  of  his  unfeigned  repentance  and 
sorrow  for  what  he  had  done,  composed  this  penitential  hymn, 
wherein  he  is  very  earnest  in  praying  to  God  for  pardon  and 
mercy,  and  justifies  God,  and  takes  shame  to  himself,  by  a  free 
and  open  confession  of  his  sin.  He  not  only  penitently  ac- 
knowledges the  particular  crime  he  had  committed,  with  the 
aggravations  of  it,  and  thereby  justifies  God  in  the  sentence 
passed  upon  him,  verse  3,  4 :  but  he  follows  the  streams  up  to 
the  spring  head,  and  laments  his  original  sin,  and  natural  cor- 
ruption, in  the  words  of  my  text;  "Behold,  I  was  shapen  in 
iniquity,  and  in  sin  did  my  mother  conceive  me."  It  is  as  if  he 
had  said,  "  This  is  not  the  only  sin  which  I  have  reason  to  ac- 
knowledge and  bewail  before  thee  ;  for  this  filthy  stream  leads 
me  to  a  corrupt  fountain:  this  heinous  crime,  although  drawn 
out  by  external  temptation,  was,  indeed,  the  proper  fruit  of  my 
own  vile  nature,  which,  without  the  restraints  of  thy  provi- 
dence or  grace,  will  incline  and  dispose  me  to  commit  these 
and  ten  thousand  other  sins,  as  occasions  offer  themselves :  not 
that  I  mention  this  in  excuse  of  what  I  have  done ;  no,  this 
innate  proneness  to  evil  ought,  and,  if  I  had  duly  considered  it, 
would  have  made  me  more  watchful  against  the  temptation, 
and  more  diligent  to  suppress  those  bad  inclinations,  which  I 
knew  to  be  so  natural,  that  I  brought  them  into  the  world  with 
me.  I  confess  it  therefore  as  an  aggravation  of  my  sin  and 
folly  in  dallying  with  the  temptation,  and  venturing  amongst 
the  sparks  with  such  tinder  in  my  heart,  and  desire  to  humble 
myself  before  thee  for  it,  and  implore  thy  pardon  and  mercy." 
So  that  it  is  his  natural  corruption,  which  is  commonly  called 
original  sin,  because  it  is  as  ancient  as  our  original,  and  because 
it  is  the  original  of  all  our  actual  transgressions,  that  he  here 
confesses  and  bewails.  This  is  excepted  against  by  some.  The 
learned  Grotius  thinks  there  is  an  hyperbole  in  the  words,  and 
gives  us  this  as  the  sense:  Non  nimc  tantum  not  now  only, 
but  I  have  often  sinned,  a  pueritia  mea,  from  my  childhood; 
as  if  he  only  took  occasion,  from  this  great  crime  to  confess 
his  other  former  actual  transgressions.  But  the  expressions  are 
too  strong  to  admit  this  gloss;  nor  should  we  relinquish  the 
literal  sense  of  words  in  Scripture,  and  have  recourse  to  figures, 
without  a  plain  necessity,  whereas  none  can  be  pretended  here, 
unless  it  be  to  serve  an  hypothesis.  The  Pelagians  and  Soci- 
nians  endeavour  to  avoid  the  force  of  this  text,  and  the  argu- 
ment contained  in  it,  for  the  proof  of  the  corruption  of  nature, 
by  pretending  that  David  here  only  confessed  his  parents'  sin- 
fulness, in  begetting  and  conceiving  him,  and  not  his  own 


OF   ORIGINAL   CORRUPTION.  127 

natural  sinfulness,  as  begotten  and  conceived:  but  this  is  a 
very  forced  interpretation;  for  the  word,  which  we  render,  / 
ivas  shapen,  and  which  respects  not  his  parents'  acts  in  beget- 
ting, but,  if  we  carry  it  so  far,  his  formation  in  the  womb, 
wherein  they,  as  well  as  himself,  were  passive  and  not  actors, 
will  not  bear  this  meaning.  This  sense  is  also  inconsistent 
with  his  design,  which  is  not  to  accuse  others,  but  to  confess 
his  own  sin,  and  implore  pardon  and  mercy  for  it;  and  what 
an  odd  plea  would  this  put  into  the  mouth  of  such  a  penitent  ? 
Although  I  did  not  derive  sin  from  my  parents,  yet  they  sinned 
in  begetting  me,  therefore  pardon  my  sin.  Besides  all  this, 
there  is,  in  truth,  no  foundation  for  this  interpretation  in  the 
nature  of  things.  The  Scriptures  give  us  no  hint  of  any  sin 
of  this  kind  that  David's  parents  were  chargeable  with.  On 
the  other  hand,  we  find  him  mentioning  the  piety  of  his  mother, 
that  she  was  God's  handmaid,  and  pleading  his  relation  to  her 
as  such.  Psalms  Ixxxvi.  16.  cxvi.  16.  It  is  therefore  his  own 
sin,  and  not  the  sin  of  his  parents,  that  he  here  confesses,  and 
it  is  the  sin  of  his  nature,  and  that  which  was  derived  to  him 
by  natural  generation ;  I  was  shapen  in  iniquity,  and  conceived 
in  sin,  i.  e.  from  my  birth,  from  my  formation  in  the  womb, 
when  my  nature  was  first  conveyed  to  me,  and  I  was  consti- 
tuted a  man :  as  soon  as  my  soul  and  body  were  united  in  the 
womb  (for  in  that  latitude  we  may  understand  these  phrases 
of  his  being  shaped  and  conceived)  I  was  a  sinner,  having  not 
only  the  guilt  of  Adam's  first  sin  imputed  to  me,  but  having 
from  him  a  defiled,  polluted,  corrupted  nature  derived  to  me. 
And  thus  the  general  current  of  interpreters,  both  Jewish  and 
Christian,  both  ancient  and  modern,  understand  and  expound 
it :  and  this  being  the  true  meaning  of  the  words,  I  might  ob- 
serve from  them  several  things  useful  for  instruction ;  as,  that 
the  corruption  of  our  nature  is  a  sin;  that  it  is  the  corrupt  foun- 
tain from  whence  all  actual  transgressions  flow ;  that  in  the  con- 
fession of  our  actual  sins,  we  should  be  led  by  these  streams  to 
acknowledge  and  bewail  this  corrupt  fountain  of  them,  and  the 
like. 

What  I  shall  at  present  attempt,  is  only  to  illustrate  and  vin- 
dicate this  general  truth:  "That  all  mankind,  descending  from 
Adam,  by  ordinary  generation,  are  born  in  sin,  and  original 
corruption." 

I  say,  descending  from  Adam  by  ordinary  generation,  to 
except  our  blessed  Saviour,  who  was  born  by  a  supernatural 
and  miraculous  conception.  But  he  being  excepted,  what  Da- 
vid here  acknowledges  concerning  himself  is  true  of  all  man- 
kind besides. 

I.  I  shall  briefly  show  what  we  mean  by  this  original  cor- 
ruption^ 


128  OF   ORIGINAL    CORRUPTION. 

II.  I  shall  prove  that  we  are  all  tainted  with  it,  and  that  from 

our  birth  and  formation. 

III.  I  shall  inquire  whence  it  is  that  we  are  so,  and  what  is 
the  reason  and  cause  of  it. 

I.  I  am  briefly  to  show  what  we  mean  by  this  original  cor- 
ruption; and,  in  general,  it  is  an  universal  depravation  of 
every  part  in  man  since  the  fall.  The  Scripture  assures  us, 
that  God  made  man  upright,  Eccl.  vii.  29,  and  after  his  own 
image,  Gen.  i.  26,  27.  There  was  an  habitual  conformity  of 
all  his  natural  powers  to  the  whole  will  of  God;  his  under- 
standing saw  divine  things  clearly  and  truly,  without  error  or 
mistake;  his  will  complied  readily  and  universally  with  the 
will  of  God,  without  reluctance  or  resistance;  his  aff"ections 
were  all  orderly;  he  had  no  unruly  appetites  or  passions,  nor 
was  there  any  vanity  or  ungovernableness  in  his  thoughts ; 
all  the  inferior  powers  were  subject  to  the  dictates  and  direc- 
tions of  the  superior  without  any  mutiny  or  rebellion.  Thus  was 
man  made  upright,  after  the  image  of  God,  in  knowledge, 
righteousness,  and  true  holiness.  But  this  uprightness  and  in- 
tegrity is  now  lost,  the  whole  soul  and  body  corrupted,  and  the 
whole  harmony  of  man  dissolved.  The  image  of  God  is  razed 
out  or  obliterated,  and  the  image  of  the  devil  himself  engraved 
upon  the  soul ;  all  men,  and  all  in  man,  being  quite  out  of  or- 
der. The  soul  is  corrupted  with  all  its  faculties ;  the  mind 
with  darkness  and  ignorance,  (Eph.  v.  3,)  being  subject  to  the 
sensitive  part,  and  strongly  prejudiced  against  the  things  of 
God,  1  Cor.  iv.  24 ;  the  conscience  with  stupidity  and  insensi- 
bleness,  Tit.  i.  15;  the  will  with  stubbornness  and  rebellion, 
Rom.  viii.  7 ;  the  affections  are  become  carnal,  and  placed 
either  upon  unlawful  objects,  or  upon  lawful  in  an  unlawful 
manner  or  degree.  Col.  iii.  2 ;  the  thoughts  and  imaginations 
are  full  of  pride,  and  vanity,  and  disorder.  Gen.  vi.  5.  And  as 
for  the  body,  that  is  become  a  clog,  instead  of  being  serviceable 
to  the  soul,  and  all  its  members  and  senses  instruments  of  un- 
righteousness to  sin;  Rom.  vii.  19.  It  is,  I  say,  in  general,  an 
universal  depravation  of  every  part  in  man  since  the  fall ;  and 
more  particularly  it  consists  in  a  privation  of  all  good,  in  an 
enmity  to  God  and  the  things  of  God,  and  in  a  propensity  to 
all  evil. 

It  consists  in  a  privation  of  all  that  is  good.  By  the  first  act 
of  sin  there  was  a  loss  of  original  purity  and  righteousness;  the 
image  of  God,  wherein  man  was  created,  was  defaced,  and 
blotted  out,  and,  wherever  this  corruption  is  predominant, 
there  is  a  total  absence  of  all  that  is  holy  and  good.  The  apos- 
tle is  very  express  to  this  purpose;  I  know  that,  in  ?ne,  that  is, 
in  mi/Jlesh,  (or  in  my  nature,  as  corrupted,  which  is  frequently 
signified  by  the  term^^e^A  in  Scripture)  there  dwel/eth  no  good 


OF    ORIGINAL    CORRUPTION.  129 

thing;  Rom.  vii.  18,  no  grace,  no  holiness,  nothing  that  is  truly 
and  spiritually  good.  We  may  as  soon  expect  to  find  good 
corn  growing  upon  a  rock,  or  on  the  sand  by  the  sea-side,  as 
expect  any  good  from  corrupt  nature  as  such.  The  new  na- 
ture cannot  commit  sin;  but  the  flesh,  the  old  corrupt  nature, 
can  do  nothing  but  sin,  for  it  serves  and  is  entirely  under  the 
conduct  and  government  of  the  law  of  sin;  ver.  25;  nor  is 
there  a  bare  absence  of  what  is  good,  but  an  enmity  against  it. 
In  fallen  man  there  is  not  only  a  weakness  and  impotence  to 
what  is  good,  whence  we  are  said  to  be  without  strength,  and 
not  sufficient  of  ourselves  to  do  a  good  action,  to  speak  a  good 
word,  or  so  much  as  to  think  a  good  thought;  but  there  is  be- 
sides an  averseness  to,  and  enmity  against  it.  We  are  there- 
fore said  to  be  enemies  in  oirr  minds,  nay,  to  be  enmity,  in  the 
abstract;  "  The  carnal  mind  (the  mind  as  overspread  with  natu- 
ral corruption)  is  enmity  against  God,"  Rom.  viii.  7.  It  is  an 
enmity  that  is  deeply  rooted:  the  mind,  the  will,  and  all  the 
powers  of  the  soul  are  possessed  by  it.  The  best  of  the  flesh, 
even  the  wisdom  of  the  flesh,  is  enmity  against  God;  and  it 
extends  itself  to  all  of  God,  his  nature,  his  properties,  his  image, 
his  will,  his  law,  his  gospel.  There  is  in  it  a  perfect  contrariety 
to  the  nature,  and  it  does  always  cross  and  resist  the  will  of 
God;  so  that  it  is  not,  and  carmot  be  subject  to  his  laws.  This 
is  the  unhappy,  the  wretched  temper  of  thy  soul,  0  sinner,  of 
every  soul  by  nature,  until  it  is  renewed  by  grace;  it  is  full  of 
hatred  and  enmity  against  him  who  is  the  Author  of  our  being, 
and  the  Fountain  of  our  happiness;  and  herein  it  evidences 
itself  so  to  be,  that  it  is  not  subject  to  his  law,  neither,  indeed, 
can  be. 

Further,  it  consists  in  a  propensity  to  all  that  is  evil ;  not  that 
there  is  an  equal  propensity  in  all  to  every  sin,  for  some  are 
more  inclined  to  some  sins,  and  some  to  others;  but  there  is  a 
propensity,  more  or  less,  in  every  one  to  all  sin.  All  sin  what- 
ever is  wrapt  up  in  this  natural  corruption,  as  one  expresses  it; 
and  actual  sins  are  but  the  unfoldings  of  it,  they  all  proceeding 
from  this  corrupt  root  and  fountain,  Mat.  xv.  29.  It  is  for  this 
reason,  as  some  conceive,  that  the  Septuagint  renders  sin  and 
iniquity  in  the  text  in  the  plural  number;  because  there  is  a 
plurality  of  sins  in  our  natural  corruption.  It  is  all  sin,  virtu- 
ally, because  it  disposes  and  inclines  to  all;  and  consequently 
if  there  is  any  particular  sin  we  have  not  fallen  into,  it  is  not 
for  want  of  corrupt  principles  and  dispositions  in  our  nature; 
but  it  is  owing  to  the  restraints  of  the  providence  or  grace  of 
God,  without  which  we  should  break  out  into  as  great  abomi- 
nations as  were  ever  committed  by  the  vilest  of  the  sons  of  men. 
This  being  what  we  mean  by  original  corruption, 

II.  I  shall  prove  that  we  are  all  tainted  with  it,  and  that  from 
our  very  birth  and  formation.     That  this  corruption  is  general, 

17 


130  OF    ORIGINAL    CORRUPTION. 

and  has  overspread  our  whole  race,  the  history  and  experience, 
of  all  ages  teach  us  but  too  evidently.  The  immediate  son  of 
the  first  transgressor  proceeded  to  such  a  degree  of  envy  and 
malice  that  he  murdered  his  own  brother,  more  righteous  than 
himself.  And  from  thence  impiety  spread  and  prevailed  m  the 
old  world,  till  Divine  patience,  no  longer  able  to  bear,  gave  way 
to  justice,  which  brought  in  the  deluge,  and  swept  mankind, 
one  family  only  excepted,  from  off  the  face  of  the  earth.  But, 
notwithstanding  so  vast  and  so  astonishing  a  desolation,  this 
corruption  soon  showed  itself  again,  in  the  new  world,  and  that 
in  a  religious  family  too;  they  had  seen  a  wonderful  train  of 
mercies,  leading  them  through  a  sea  of  judgments,  but  nothing 
of  that  was  able  to  extirpate  an  evil  so  deeply  rooted  in  human 
nature ;  and  sin  still  grew  with  the  increase  of  mankind,  till  it 
brought  down  the  fiery  vengeance  of  the  Almighty  on  Sodom, 
and  the  neighbouring  cities.  Notwithstanding  those  signal  and 
fearful  judgments,  that  in  all  ages  have  pursued  sin,  we  find  the 
"  hearts  of  men  set  in  them  to  do  evil."  This  disease  is  epi- 
demical. Every  man  feels  in  himself  a  natural  antipathy  to 
good,  and  proneness  to  evil;  and  cannot  but  observe  the  effects 
of  it  in  others.  Even  the  wiser  pagans,  who  wanted  the  light  of 
divine  revelation,  were  sensible  of  it,  and  complained,  although 
they  were  ignorant  of  the  true  cause  and  spring  of  it;  and  there- 
fore prescribed  various  ways  and  methods  for  the  purifying  of 
souls,  and  raising  them  to  that  purity  and  perfection  to  which 
they  supposed  they  were  designed. 

It  is  certain,  that  in  Scripture  this  general  corruption  is  often 
mentioned ;  "  God  made  man  upright,  but  he  sought  out  many 
inventions:  The  heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things,  and  des- 
perately wicked,"  Jer.  xvii.  9.  It  tells  us,  that  "  the  imagina- 
tions of  men's  thoughts  are  only  evil  continually,"  Gen.  vi.  5. 
And  lest  we  should  think  this  description  only  belonged  to  the 
antediluvian  sinners,  who  had  filled  the  earth  with  violence,  the 
Lord  repeats  it  again  after  the  flood,  "  The  imagination  of  man's 
heart  is  evil  from  his  youth,"  Gen,  viii.  21.  It  informs  us  that 
there  is  "  no  man  that  lives  and  sins  not;"  that  "there  is  none 
good,  no,  not  one;  that  in  us,  that  is,  in  our  flesh,  there  dwells 
no  good  thing;  and  that  they  who  are  in  the  fiesh  cannot  please 
God:"  where,  by  flesh,  is  meant  the  natural  state  of  mankind, 
according  to  those  words  of  our  Saviour;  "  That  which  is  born 
of  the  flesh  is  flesh,"  John  iii.  6.  This,  some  think,  is  particu- 
larly meant  by  the  sin  of  the  world,  which  Christ,  the  Lamb  of 
God,  came  to  take  away,  it  having  overspread  the  whole  world; 
but  to  be  sure  it  is  what  is  intended  by  "  the  sin  that  dwells  in 
us;  by  the  law  in  our  members,  which  wars  against  the  law  of 
our  minds;  by  the  flesh  that  lusts  against  the  spirit;  and  by  the 
old  man  which  is  corrupt,  according  to  the  deceitful  lusts." 
These,  with  many  other  places  of  Scripture,  to  the  same  pur- 


OF   ORIGINAL    CORRUPTION.  I3l 

pose,  when  they  are  joined  to  the  universai  experience  of  all 
mankind,  are  sufficient  to  settle  this  point,  that,  in  fact,  this  cor- 
ruption is  derived  to  our  whole  race,  and  the  contagion  is  spread 
over  all.  And,  indeed,  if  it  was  not  thus,  what  need  had  there 
been  of  a  Saviour,  and  what  necessity  of  regeneration  ?  When 
we  are  told,  that  "  Christ  is  made  to  us  wisdom  and  righteous- 
ness, and  sanctification  and  redemption,"  1  Cor.  i.  30,  may  we 
not  justly  infer  that  we  have  no  wisdom,  no  righteousness,  no 
sanctification  of  our  own,  and  that  we  are  not  in  a  capacity  to 
redeem  ourselves  from  the  slavery  of  sin?  And  when  our  Sa- 
viour says,  "  Except  a  man  is  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the 
kingdom  of  God;"  and  adds  this  as  the  reason  of  it,  that  "  what 
is  born  of  the  flesh,  is  flesh:  and  what  is  born  of  the  spirit,  is 
spirit;"  as  it  shows  the  absolute  necessity  of  our  being  born 
again,  so  it  is  an  undeniable  proof  of  original  corruption;  for 
unless  we  were  corrupted  in  our  first,  there  would  be  no  need 
of  a  second,  a  new  birth. 

But  this  is  not  all;  for  we  are  not  only  all  infected  with  this 
sin,  but  my  text  informs  us,  that  we  are  tainted  with  it  from 
our  birth  and  formation;  "  I  was  shapen  in  iniquity,  and  con- 
ceived in  sin."  I  was  a  sinner  as  soon  as  I  was  a  creature,  as 
soon  as  I  was  formed ;  not  only  from  my  birth,  and  being 
brought  forth,  as  the  first  word  is  rendered  in  other  places, 
Job  XV.  7,  and  xxxix,  1,  Pro  v.  viii.  24,  25,  but  from  my  being 
warmed,  as  the  other  word  signifies,  and  is  rendered  in  the 
margin ;  as  soon  as  I  was  enhvened  in  the  womb,  and  my  soul 
was  united  to  my  body.  This  corruption  is  not  contracted  only 
by  imitation,  nor  does  it  become  habitual  by  custom,  or  repeti- 
tion of  acts,  but  it  is  rooted  in  the  soul,  and  diffused  through 
it,  as  soon  as  the  soul  is  united  to  the  body,  and  it  discovers 
itself  as  soon  as  it  is  capable  either  of  imitation  or  acting.  God 
himself  testifies  not  only  that  the  imagination  of  man's  heart 
is  evil  from  his  youth.  Gen.  viii.  21,  but  that  every  imagination 
of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart,  the  first  that  arises  in  him  is  evil, 
only  evil,  and  continually  evil,  chap.  vi.  5.  Thus  we  are  told, 
that  man  is  born  not  only  a  vain  empty  creature,  that  has  no- 
thing in  him,  but  a  foolish,  stupid,  wilful,  ungovernable  crea- 
ture, a  wild  ass's  colt,  as  averse  to  all  that  is  good  and  holy,  as 
he  is  ignorant  of  all  spiritual  things.  Job  ix.  12.  To  the  same 
purpose  the  Psalmist  informs  us,  that  "  the  wicked  are  estranged 
from  the  womb ;  they  go  astray  as  soon  as  they  are  born,  speak- 
ing lies,"  Psal.  Iviii.  3.  They  brought  with  them  into  the  world 
natures  estranged  from  God,  alienated  from  the  divine  life  and 
all  goodness ;  and  no  wonder  then  they  go  astray  from  God  and 
their  duty  as  soon  as  they  are  capable  of  acting.  The  foolish- 
ness bound  up  in  their  hearts  presently  appears,  with  the  first 
operations  of  reason;  and  they  speak  lies  as  soon  as  they  are 
able  to  speak  at  all.     And  thus  what  the  prophet  upbraids 


]32  OF    ORIGINAL    CORRUPTION. 

Israel  with,  is  applicable  to  particular  persons;  "They  were 
called  transgressors  from  the  womb,"  Isa.  xlviii.  8.  The  words 
are  spoken  of  them  politically  considered;  they  were  prone  to 
idolatry  from  their  first  formation  into  a  people,  and  brought 
with  them  out  of  Egypt  a  strange  addictedness  to  that  sin;  but 
they  hold  true  of  every  one  of  us.  We  may  all  be  called  trans- 
gressors from  the  womb,  being  born  children  of  disobedience; 
yea,  not  only  from  the  time  of  our  coming  out  of  the  womb,  but 
of  our  being  formed  in  it.  When  we  first  have  the  nature  of 
men  communicated  to  us,  then  we  may  be  called  trajisgressors ; 
that  which  conveys  our  nature,  and  constitutes  us  men,  convey- 
ing sin,  and  constituting  us  sinners.  And  this  may  be  in  part 
the  meaning  of  the  apostle,  when  he  tells  us  that  "we  are  by 
nature  children  of  wrath,"  Eph.  ii.  2.  "  We  (says  he,  we  Jews 
as  well  as  you  Gentiles,  which  terms  then  comprehended  all 
mankind)  are  children  of  wrath;"  and  this  not  by  custom  and 
imitation,  but  by  nature ;  and  one  man  is  as  much  so  by  nature 
as  another.  We  are  not  only  really  and  truly  so,  which  those 
who  deny  original  corruption  pretend  is  all  that  is  meant  by 
oiature,  but  we  are  born  so.  As  soon  as  we  began  to  exist, 
we  were  children  of  wrath,  and  liable  to  the  displeasure  of  the 
Most  High,  having  not  only  the  guilt  of  the  first  sin  rigliteously 
impirted  to  us,  but  being  naturally  inclined  to  what  is  sinful  and 
vicious,  and  polluted  and  defiled  with  it,  even  from  our  birth. 
So  plentiful  an  evidence  does  the  Scripture  give  of  this  truth, 
that  all  mankind  are  tainted  with  original  corruption,  and  that 
from  their  birth  and  formation.     But, 

III.  I  shall  inquire  whence  this  is,  and  what  is  the  reason 
and  cause  of  it.  The  general  answer  to  this  inquiry  is,  that 
Adam  having,  by  his  rebellion,  lost  his  primitive  rectitude,  and 
contracted  an  universal  corruption,  it  is  from  him  derived  to  all 
his  natural  posterity.  That  this  was  really  the  case  with  Adam 
himself,  I  might  take  for  granted,  as  generally  acknowledged, 
was  it  not  for  a  bold  stroke  of  a  certain  writer,  in  favour  of  in- 
fidelity; who,  pleading  for  reason,  as  a  sufficient  guide  in  mat- 
ters of  religion,  asserts,  that  Adam's  discerning  faculty  was  so 
far  from  being  weakened  and  impaired,  that  it  is  represented  as 
being  rather  improved  by  his  transgression;  and  this  because  it 
is  said,  "  The  eyes  of  them  both  were  opened,  and  they  knew 
that  they  were  naked;  and  the  Lord  God  said,  Behold  the  man 
is  become  as  one  of  us,  to  know  good  and  evil,"  Gen.  iii.  7,  22. 
But  that  this  is  not  meant  of  any  advances  in  true  knowledge, 
is  agreed  by  the  general  current  of  interpreters.  "  Their  eyes 
were  opened,"  or  their  consciences  were  awakened  and  con- 
vinced, and  "  they  knew  that  they  were  naked,"  or  stripped, 
deprived  of  all  the  honours  and  joys  of  their  innocent  state,  and 
exposed  to  all  the  miseries  that  might  justly  be  expected  from 
an  angry  God.    Or  if,  by  their  being  naked,  is  meant  their  being 


OF    ORIGINAL    CORRUPTION.  133 

without  clothes,  as  indeed  seems  by  their  making  themselves 
coverings,  their  knowing  this  must  intend,  not  that  they  were 
ignorant  of  it  before,  but  that  they  found  themselves  under  a 
necessity  of  being  clothed,  which  they  did  not  discover  till  now, 
as  a  learned  man*  explains  it,  who  makes  it  an  evidence  and 
effect  of  the  corruption  of  their  natures:  and  it  is  plain,  from  the 
sacred  history,  that  it  was  such  a  knowledge  of  their  nakedness, 
as  filled  them  with  shame  and  fearful  apprehensions  of  the 
anger  of  God ;  "  I  was  afraid,"  said  the  man,  "  because  I  was 
naked,  and  I  hid  myself,"  Gen.  iii.  10;  and  hereby  they  came 
to  know  experimentally  the  good  they  had  lost,  and  the  evil 
they  had  done  and  subjected  themselves  to.  They  found  such 
an  alteration  in  themselves;  they  saw  such  uncomely  motions 
and  disorders  in  their  bodies,  and  felt  such  disorder  in  their 
spirits,  "  a  law  in  their  members  warring  against  the  law  of 
their  minds,"  as  they  had  never  been  conscious  of  before,  and 
such  as  filled  them  with  shame  and  fear;  and  consequently  this 
was  a  proof  that  their  natures  were  corrupted  and  depraved. 

This  being  certain,  and  we  being  in  him,  both  as  our  natural 
and  moral  principle,  we,  by  propagation  from  him,  derive  a 
corrupted  depraved  nature,  full  of  impotency,  rebellion,  and 
disorder,  and  this  as  soon  as  we  are  become  children  of  Adam, 
as  soon  as  our  souls  are  united  to  our  bodies;  for  it  is  this  union 
which  constitutes  us  the  children  of  Adam.  In  him  the  foun- 
tain was  poisoned,  and  all  the  streams  partake  of  the  infection. 
Hence  it  is  said,  that  "Adam  begat  a  son,  in  his  own  likeness, 
after  his  image,"  Gen.  v.  3.  Adam  was  made  in  the  image  of 
God,  but  having,  by  his  sin,  lost  the  divine  image,  he  begat  a 
son,  not  in  that,  but  in  his  own  likeness,  sinful  and  defiled  like 
himself;  not  only  a  man  like  himself,  consisting  of  soul  and 
body,  but  a  sinner  like  himself,  guilty  and  obnoxious,  degener- 
ate and  corrupt.  He  propagated,  and  conveyed  to  his  descend- 
ants, that  guilt  and  corruption  he  had  himself  contracted.!  This 
Job  was  not  unacquainted  with,  as  appears  from  that  question 
of  his.  Job  XV.  14:  "What  is  man,  that  he  should  be  clean? 
and  he  which  is  born  of  a  woman,  that  he  should  be  righteous?" 
Or  if  any  suppose  that  uncleanness  is  here  charged  upon  man 
comparatively  only,  and  with  respect  to  the  transcendent  purity 
of  God,  which  is  a  very  ditferent  thing  from  the  uncleanness  de- 
rived from  the  fall,  there  is  another  passage  that  will  not  admit 
of  this  construction,  Job  xiv.  1,  &c.,  where,  having  presented 
the  miserable  condition  of  man,  "  Man  that  is  born  of  a  woman 
is  of  few  days,  and  full  of  trouble,"  &c.,  he  expostulates  the  case 

*  Dr.  Tliomas  Burnet's  Demonstration  of  True  Religion,  Vol.  II.  p.  52,  53. 

t  It  is  remarkable  that  the  text  does  here  not  speak  of  Abel,  who  died  without 
issue;  nor  of  Cain,  all  whose  progeny  was  drowned  in  tlie  flood;  but  of  Seth,  by 
whom  all  mankind  has  hitherto  been  continued  in  the  world;  which  shows  that 
none  are  exempted  from  it. — Polhill's  Speculum  Theologiae  in  Christo,  p.  2i7, 218. 


134  OF    ORIGINAL    CORRUPTION. 

with  God,  "  Dost  thou  open  thine  eyes  upon  such  an  one,  and 
bringest  thou  me  into  judgment  with  thee?  Who  can  bring  a 
clean  thing  out  of  an  unclean?"  As  if  he  should  say,  Wilt 
thou  be  extreme  to  mark  all  my  errors?  Is  purity  to  be  ex- 
pected in  a  man  born  of  a  woman,  who  is,  by  the  very  consti- 
tution of  his  birth,  unclean  ?  This  is  an  evidence,  says  an  inge- 
nious author,  that  this  ancient  writer  was  sensible  of  the  evil 
consequences  of  the  fall,  upon  the  whole  race  of  man,  and  that 
we  are  all  corrupt  by  descent  and  inheritance.  All  this  is,  I 
think,  plain  from  Scripture;  and  this  being  certain,  if  we  can- 
not account  for  the  modun,  or  manner  of  conveying  original 
corruption,  this  should  by  no  means  weaken  our  belief  of  the 
thing  itself.  How  it  is  conveyed,  is  one  of  the  most  difficult 
questions  in  the  whole  scheme  of  divinity;  but  no  man  has 
reason  to  deny  matter  of  fact,  merely  because  he  cannot  con- 
ceive how  it  is.  There  is  an  infinity  of  things  in  the  world  of 
nature  which  are  obvious  to  our  senses,  that  we  can  no  more 
account  for  the  modus  of,  than  we  can  of  this.  Having  there- 
fore proved  the  thing  itself,  we  need  not  be  over  solicitous 
about,  nor  over  nice  in  inquiring  into  the  manner  of  it.  Thus 
much  is  certain,  that  it  is  the  universal  and  unchan2;eable  law 
of  nature,  that  every  thing  produces  its  like,  not  only  in  regard 
of  the  same  nature,  that  is  propagated  from  one  individual  to 
another,  without  a  change  of  the  species,  but  in  respect  of  the 
qualities  with  which  that  nature  is  eminently  affected.  This  is 
visible  in  the  several  kinds  of  creatures  in  the  world :  they  all 
preserve  the  natur©.of  the  principle  from  whence  they  are  deriv- 
ed, and  retain  the  vein  of  their  original,  and  the  quality  of  their 
extraction;*  "Whatsoever  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh." 

It  may  be  said.  True,  Adam  being  defiled,  all  emanations 
from  him  must  partake  of  that  vitiated  state  to  which  he  had 
brought  himself  But  the  great  difliculty  is  how  the  souls  of 
his  posterity,  which  are  created  immediately  by  God,  come  to 
be  defiled.  If  they  were,  as  well  as  their  bodies,  by  traduction 
or  generation  from  their  parents,  it  might  be  less  difficult  to 
account  for  it;  for  which  reason  TertuUian,  and  divers  of  the 
western  fathers,  fell  in  with  that  notion:  but  it  is  now  generally 
exploded,  and  it  is  most  agreeable,  both  to  Scripture  and  reason, 
to  assert  them  to  be  immediately  created  by  God.  But  how 
then  come  they  to  be  defiled  ?  To  be  sure  God  does  not  inspire 
or  infuse  any  impurity  into  them:  this  would  make  God  the 

*  Do  we  not  every  day  see  a  great  resemblance  between  children  and  their 
parents,  not  only  in  the  lineaments  of  their  face,  the  motions  and  gestures  of  their 
body,  but  in  the  most  signal  and  reigning  qualities  of  their  minds  ?  The  pride 
and  frowardness,  immility  and  meekness,  covetousness  and  ambition;  and  even 
tlie  nicer  particularities  of  men's  very  humours,  are  oftentimes  seen  in  those  chil- 
dren who  lost  tlieir  parents  before  they  were  capable  of  imitation  :  and  therefore 
were  derived  down  from  them  bv  an  unseen  means  as  their  original  corruption. 
Dr.  Delaune's  Sermons  on  Original  Sin,  p.  22. 


OF    ORIGINAL    CORRUPTION.  135 

author  of  sin,  a  thought  so  impious  and  so  dishonourable  to 
God,  that  a  pious  mind  cannot  but  reject  it  with  the  utmost  ab- 
horrence and  detestation.  This  therefore  cannot  be  admitted: 
but  does  it  follow  from  thence  that  they  are  created  morally- 
pure  ?  Where  is  the  inconvenience?  Is  there  any  thing  incon- 
sistent with  the  divine  perfections,  to  suppose  them  to  receive 
neither  purity  nor  impurity  from  him,  but  only  their  naked 
essence,  and  the  natural  powers  and  properties  flowing  there- 
from? As  a  holy  God,  he  cannot  infuse  into  them  an  impurity; 
but,  as  a  just  and  righteous  God,  he  may  withhold,  and  create 
them  void  of  that  original  rectitude,  holiness,  and  righteousness, 
which  was  the  happiness  and  glory  of  Adam,  in  his  primitive 
state,  but  which  by  his  sin  he  lost.  Nor  is  there  any  injustice 
in  it,  since  Adam  was  considered  as  our  covenant,  as  well  as 
natural  head  and  representative,  and  consequently  forfeited  this 
for  us,  as  well  as  for  himself 

A  reverend  brother,  on  this  argument,  says,  "  God  might  cre- 
ate a  soul  guilty,  without  any  impeachment  of  his  perfections, 
or  giving  the  least  ground  to  suppose  him  the  author  of  sin  ;  for 
this  is  a  punishment  due  to  us,  for  the  sin  of  our  first  parents.  I 
can  also  conceive,  says  he,  how  God  can  create  a  soul  impotent 
to  what  is  good,  without  any  impeachment  of  his  perfections,  if 
we  consider  the  privilege  now  denied,  as  having  been  once 
given,  and  then  forfeited."*  But  then  the  question  still  recurs, 
How  comes  it  then  to  be  defiled?  Some  think  it  is  the  neces- 
sary consequence  of  its  being  created  guilty,  and  deprived  of 
original  rectitude ;  for  whatsoever  wants  original  rectitude,  say 
they,  naturally  inclines  to  that  which  is  evil.  But  this  want  of 
original  righteousness  being  supposed,  the  generality  of  divines 
reckon  it  results  from  the  union  of  the  soul  with  the  body. 
They  say,  original  sin  does  not  follow  either  part  singly;  it 
comes  in  neither  by  the  soul  alone,  nor  by  the  body  alone,  apart 
from  the  soul,  but  upon  the  union  and  conjunction  of  these.  It 
is  the  union  of  these  two  which  constitutes  a  child  of  Adam, 
and  as  such  only  we  are  capable  of  being  infected  with  his 
sin.t 

But  here  it  is  objected,  How  can  this  be,  since  the  body  being 
matter,  cannot  act  upon  a  spirit?  But  this,  as  one  observes,  is 
grafis  dictum,  more  easily  said  than  proved.  Cannot  the  body 
act  upon  or  influence  the  soul?  How  then  comes  it  to  pass  that 
so  many  souls  become  foolish,  forgetful  and  injudicious,  by  their 
union  with  ill-disposed  bodies?  Nothing  is  more  sensibly  plain 
and  evident  than  that  there  is  a  reciprocal  communication  be- 
twixt the  soul  and  body,  and  that  the  body  does  as  really, 

*  Mr.  Ridgley's  Doctrine  of  Original  Sin,  p. 
t  Mr.  Flavel's  Treatise  of  the  Soul  of  Man, 


136  OF    ORIGINAL    CORRUPTION. 

though  we  know  not  how,  affect  the  soul  with  its  dispositions, 
as  the  soul  influences  it  with  life  and  motion.  There  are  there- 
fore these  things  to  be  considered  here,  that  the  soul  is  created 
guilty;  and  as  the  punishment  of  the  first  sin,  destitute  of  origi- 
nal righteousness,  and  having  thereby  lost  its  guard  and  strength 
to  resist,  it  is  easily  overcome  by  that  corrupt  and  disordered 
matter  to  which  it  is  united.  But  does  not  this  seem  an  unjust 
cruelty,  to  condemn  souls,  not  impure,  to  such  an  union  to  a  de- 
filed body  as  should  certainly  corrupt  them?  To  which  it  is  an- 
swered. That  God  has  settled  it  as  a  law  in  the  creation,  that  a 
soul  should  inform  a  body  according  to  the  texture  of  it,  and 
either  conquer  it,  or  be  mastered  by  it,  according  as  it  should 
be  diff'erently  made ;  that  when  all  things  were  duly  prepared 
for  the  propagation  of  the  species  of  mankind,  a  soul  should  be 
always  ready  to  enter  into,  and  imitate  those  first  threads  and 
beginnings  of  life.  These  laws  being  laid  down,  Adam,  by  cor- 
rupting his  own  frame,  corrupted  the  frame  of  his  whole  pos- 
terity, by  the  general  course  of  things,  and  the  great  law  of  his 
creation ;  so  that  the  suffering  this  to  run  through  all  the  race, 
is  no  more  (only  different  in  degrees  and  extent)  than  the  suffer- 
ing the  folly  or  madness  of  a  man  to  infect  his  posterity.  In 
these  things  God  acts  as  the  Creator  and  governor  of  the  world, 
by  general  rules,  and  these  must  not  be  altered  by  the  sins  and 
disorders  of  men;  but  they  are  rather  to  have  their  course,  that 
so  sin  may  be  its  own  punishment. — Thus  have  I  endeavoured 
to  open  and  vindicate  this  general  truth,  That  all  mankind,  de- 
scending from  Adam  by  ordinary  generation,  are  born  in  sin 
and  original  corruption. 

APPLICATION. 

1.  From  what  has  been  said,  the  doctrine  of  original  sin  and 
corruption  appears  to  be  no  new  doctrine.  It  was  not  invented 
by  St.  Augustine ;  no,  it  is  much  older  than  he,  even  as  ancient 
as  the  fall,  and  has  been  acknowledged  and  lamented  by  the 
wisest  and  best  of  men  in  all  ages.  It  is  a  doctrine  attested  not 
only  by  Scripture,  but  universal  experience  ;  and  therefore  let 
us  not  be  ashamed  to  profess  it,  nor  shy  of  owning  it.  Let  us 
hold  fast  the  belief  of  it,  and  not  suffer  ourselves  to  be  moved 
from  it,  by  the  sophistry  and  cavils,  and  cunning  arts  of  crafty 
seducers,  or  by  any  objections  that  may  be  raised  against  it,  from 
the  difficulties  attending  the  modus  of  its  conveyance.  Nothing 
more  offends  carnal  reason,  and  it  is  therefore  no  wonder  that 
it  meets  with  the  most  virulent  opposition  from  the  admirers 
and  adorers  of  that  idol.  What  though  we  cannot  solve  all  the 
difficulties  attending  it,  must  we  not  therefore  believe  the  thing 
itself,  when  it  is  so  fully  asserted  in  Scripture,  and  wiien  we 


OF    ORIGINAL    CORRUPTION.  137 

both  feel  it  in  ourselves,  and  see  the  effects  of  it  in  others?* 
Certainly  we  ought.  And  when  we  consider  it  not  only  as  true, 
but  as  a  doctrine  of  very  great  importance,  and  wherein  we 
are  all  greatly  concerned;  the  more  it  is  opposed,  the  more 
should  we  endeavour  to  confirm  our  belief  of  it,  and  to  appear 
in  its  defence. 

2.  Let  us  not  only  hold  fast  the  belief,  but  endeavour  and 
pray  that  we  may  be  suitably  affected  with  this  truth.  We 
may,  from  what  has  been  said,  take  an  affecting  view  of  our 
state  and  condition  by  nature:  and  as  it  is  useful  for  us  all, 
even  those  that  are  by  grace  delivered  from  it,  to  be  looking  to 
it;  so  it  is  necessary  for  them  that  are  under  it  to  be  fully  ac- 
quainted with  it.  It  is,  at  once,  a  state  full  of  guilt,  and  a  state 
full  of  corruption  and  defilement :  We  are  all  of  us  guilty  be- 
fore God,  having  the  guilt  of  the  first  sin  righteously  imputed 
to  us;  and  this  renders  us  obnoxious  to  the  divine  displeasure; 
and  we  are  all  polluted  and  unclean,  having  corrupted  and  de- 
filed natures  derived  to  us.  A  spiritual  leprosy  has  overspread 
all  our  powers  and  faculties,  and  this  renders  us  loathsome  to 
God,  and  puts  us  in  a  state  of  separation  from  him.  What  a 
fearful  change  has  sin  made  in  us!  The  soul,  that  was  made 
in  the  image  of  God,  is  stripped  of  its  native  righteousness  and 
holiness,  and  invested  with  contrary  qualities:  "There  is  as 
great  a  difference,  says  one,  between  the  corruption  of  the  soul 
in  its  degenerate  state,  and  its  primitive  purity,  as  between  the 
loathsomeness  of  a  dead  carcase,  and  the  beauty  of  a  living 
body."  Sad  change,  indeed,  and  to  be  lamented  with  tears  of 
confusion.  How  should  this  humble  us  before  God,  and  hide 
pride  for  ever  from  our  eyes!  How  should  it  fill  us  with  self- 
loathing  and  self-abhorrence,  affect  our  souls  with  shame  and 
sorrow,  and  cause  us  to  repent  in  dust  and  ashes !  Especially 
when  we  repent  of  and  confess  our  actual  transgressions,  we 
should,  in  the  first  place,  confess  and  bewail  this  corrupt  foun- 
tain of  them;  so  does  David  in  my  text.  This  psalm  is  re- 
corded as  a  public  testimony  to  the  church,  and  the  world,  of 
his  repentance  of  a  great  sin ;  and,  we  see,  he  does,  in  a  par- 
ticular manner,  bewail  and  acknowledge  this.  And  so  did  the 
church  in  Isaiah's  prophecy,  Isa.  Ixiv.  6.  When  they  humbled 
themselves,  they  not  only  acknowledged  that  their  righteous- 
ness ivas  a  filthy  rag,  but  they  chiefly  complained  of  the  un- 

*  Such  objections  spring  out  of  equal  ignorance  and  pride,  and  borrow  all  their 
force  from  no  wiser  or  modester  a  supposition  than  that  of  man's  omniscience. 
Yet,  as  wild  and  extravagant  a  principle  as  it  is,  the  extent  of  it  reaches  very  far; 
and  it  serves  the  depraved  sons  of  Adam  against  all  the  doctrines  wiiich  they  are 
not  willing  should  be  true.  It  is  the  sole  basis  on  which  infidelity  is  built,  and  a 
most  proper  foundation  indeed  for  such  a  superstructure.  Thus  these  men,  before 
they  are  aware,  confirm  the  truth  in  question,  by  so  unreasonably  opposing  it;  by 
this  means  discovering  themselves  to  be  very  apparent  monuments  of  the  ruins 
of  human  nature. —  Dr.  Delaune's  Sermon  of  Original  Sin,  before  Sir  Richard 
Hoare,  Lord  Mayor,  p.  21. 

18 


138  OF   ORIGINAL    CORRUPTION. 

cleanness  of  their  persons,  and  that  with  respect  to  their  natures; 
We  are  all  as  an  unclean  thing. 

I  am  sensible  some  have  made  it  a  question,  Whether  we 
ought  to  repent  of  and  be  humbled  for  our  original  sin?  But  as 
the  practice  of  the  church,  and  the  penitent  psalmist,  in  my  text, 
shows  they  made  no  question  of  it,  so  we  might  evince,  from 
many  considerations,  that  this  is  a  just  ground  of  our  repentance 
and  humiliation.  I  will  only  mention  one,  and  that  is,  that  this 
is  not  only  a  sin  in  itself,  but  the  fruitful  parent  of  all  other  sins. 
That  it  is  a  misery,  all  grant,  who  acknowledge  the  thing  itself; 
but  that  it  is  also  properly  a  sin,  appears,  I  think  sufficiently 
from  the  apostle  John's  definition,  who  makes  the  formality  of 
sin  to  consist  in  its  opposition  to  the  law,  I  John  iii.  4,  "  Sin  is 
a  transgression  of  the  law."  Whatever  is  contrary  to  the  law 
of  God,  and  forbidden  in  it,  is  a  sin ;  but  the  corruption  of  our 
nature  is  forbidden  in  the  law,  and  contrary  to  what  God  re- 
quireth  therein  :  God  requires  "truth  in  the  inward  part;"  but 
original  corruption  is  the  want,  or  rather  the  reverse  of  this. 
We  are  commanded  to  be  holy,  and  that  not  only  in  our  actions, 
but  in  our  natures,  for  we  are  commanded  to  be  "  holy  as  God 
is  holy;"  and  so  the  want  of  holiness,  which  is  the  privative 
part  of  this  sin,  is  forbidden.  We  are  moreover  commanded  to 
"  love  the  Lord  our  God,  with  all  our  heart;"  and  so  the  heart's 
inclination  to  hate  God,  which  is  the  positive  part  of  this  sin,  is 
forbidden.  In  a  word,  there  is  in  it  a  nonconformity  to  the 
whole  law  of  God ;  and  a  nonconformity  to,  is  a  transgression 
of  the  whole  law.  If  therefore  the  apostle's  definition  is  just, 
the  corruption  of  our  nature  is  a  sin  ;  and  accordingly  it  is  fre- 
quently called  so  in  Scripture,  and  acknowledged  and  confessed 
as  such,  by  the  saints,  both  in  the  Old  and  New  Testament. 
So  it  is  by  David  in  our  text;  and  so  it  is  by  the  apostle  Paul, 
who  bewailed  and  aggravated  it  exceedingly,  Rom.  vii.  He 
not  only  complains  of  it,  as  a  misery,  but  he  confesses  and  be- 
wails it  as  a  sin;  and  lest  we  should  think  it  a  small  peccadillo, 
a  sin  of  an  ordinary  size,  he  calls  it  a  sin  exceedingly,  hyper- 
bolically,  sinful. 

Against  this  it  is  frequently  objected  ;  it  is  not  a  sin,  because 
it  is  not  voluntary.  But  should  we  admit  this  rule,  that  what- 
ever is  not  voluntary  is  not  a  sin,  to  be  just,  which  will  not 
hold  true  universally,  and  without  limitation,  even  when  ap- 
plied to  actual  sins ;  yet  natural  corruption  is  voluntary  in  some 
respects  ;  it  is  voluntary  in  its  principle  and  cause.  As  it  was 
voluntarily  contracted  by  Adam,  so  he  therein  being  our  fede- 
ral head  and  representative,  his  will  was  the  will  of  us  all. 
But  this  is  not  all,  for  this  corruption  is  inherent  in  the  will,  as 
its  subject.  If  Adam  had  derived  a  bodily  disease  only  to  his 
posterity,  it  might  have  been  an  involuntary  evil,  because  the 
dis'^aces  of  the  body  may  be  foreign  to  the  soul.    But  wb-""  '' 


OF    ORIGINAL   CORRUPTION".  139 

corruption  invades  the  internal  faculties,  it  is  denominated  from 
the  subject  wherein  it  is  seated.  What  though  it  does  not  pro- 
ceed originally  from  any  act  of  the  will  in  us,  yet  tlie  consent 
of  the  will  accompanies  it,  or  rather  it  is  itself  the  natural  bias 
or  inclination  of  the  will  to  evil,  and  therefore  to  say  that  it  is 
altogether  involuntary,  is  no  less  than  a  contradiction.  How- 
ever, it  is,  to  be  sure,  voluntary  in  us,  with  respect  to  an  after- 
consent,  and  in  the  etfects  of  it.  Who  amongst  us  can  say,  We 
never  consented  to  our  natural  corruption,  were  never  well- 
pleased  with  it,  never  cherished  it  by  occasions  of  sin,  never 
strengthened  it  by  acts  of  sin,  and  never  resisted  the  means 
whereby  it  should  be  mortified  and  subdued?  All  which  are 
evidences  of  an  actual  consent.  Now,  if  it  is  a  sin,  we  ought 
to  repent  of  it,  and  be  humbled  for  it;  for,  that  we  ought  to  be 
thus  affected  to,  and  by,  every  sin,  no  one  will  deny.  And  this 
would  further  appear,  if  I  could  show  that  this  is  not  only  a 
sin  in  itself,  but  the  fruitful  parent  of  all  other  sins.  But,  hav- 
ing hinted  at  this  before,  I  must  not  enlarge  upon  it  now. 

3.  What  has  been  said  discovers  to  us  our  need  and  necessity 
of  Christ.  We  have  not  only  the  guilt  of  the  first  sin  imputed, 
but  we  have  natures  universally  defiled  derived  to  us;  and  as 
we  cannot  expiate  our  guilt,  so  neither  can  we,  of  ourselves, 
renew  and  cleanse  our  natures.  This  shows  us  our  need  of 
Christ,  as  he  is  made  of  God  to  the  believer,  both  righteousness 
and  sanctification:  we  need  him  as  made  of  God  righteousness, 
to  cover  our  guilt;  and  as  made  of  God  sanctification,  to  renew 
and  cleanse  our  natures:  his  blood  is  the  blood  of  atonement, 
and  it  is  the  blood  of  sanctification,  and  we  need  it  in  both 
regards;  and  our  necessity,  in  these  respects,  is  indispensable. 
If  we  come  not  to  him  for  pardon  and  cleansing,  for  righteous- 
ness and  sanctification,  that  guilt  and  pollution  we  brought  with 
us  into  the  world  will  prove  our  ruin.  How  slight  thoughts 
soever  some  may  entertain  of  it,  even  this  exposes  us  to  the 
wrath  and  curse  of  God.  As  God  hates  sin,  wherever  he  sees 
it,  so  he  has  denounced  a  curse  against  it,  and  consequently 
being  shapen  in  iniquity  and  conceived  in  sin,  this  curse 
belongs  to  us,  and  we  are  children  of  wrath  by  nature:  and 
there  is  no  way  to  be  delivered  from  it  but  by  Christ,  by  the 
blood  and  righteousness,  the  spirit  and  grace  of  Christ.  If, 
therefore,  we  desire  to  be  freed  from  it,  let  us  pray  for  the  gift 
of  the  Divine  Spirit,  to  show  us  our  disease,  to  discover  to  us 
our  remedy,  and  to  unite  us  to  Christ,  by  a  living  and  lively 
faith,  that  we  may  be  found  in  him,  washed  in  his  blood, 
clothed  with  his  righteousness,  and  renewed  by  his  Spirit  and 
grace,  that  as  in  Jidam  ive  all  died,  died  with  respect  to  the 
guilt,  and  died  with  respect  to  the  power  of  sin;  so  in  Christ 
zoe  mar/,  in  both  respects,  be  made  alive. 

4.  If  any  of  us  are,  by  the  blood  and  righteousness  of  Christ, 


140  OF   ORIGINAL    CORRUPTION. 

freed  from  the  guilt  of  original  sin,  and  have  the  corruption  of 
our  natures,  in  any  measure,  cured,  by  the  washing  of  regene- 
ration, and  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  let  us  always  main- 
tain in  our  minds  a  lively  sense  of  our  obligations,  how  much 
we  are  indebted  to  the  love  of  the  Father,  and  to  the  grace  of 
the  Son  and  Holy  Spirit,  and  be  for  ever  thankful  for  the  same. 
Let  us,  in  the  remembrance  of  it,  and  of  the  wretched  circum- 
stances of  guilt  and  pollution,  from  which  we  are  by  grace 
delivered,  walk  humbly  with  and  before  the  Lord  all  our  days. 
And  as,  by  the  corruption  of  our  natures,  we  have  so  strong  a 
bias  to  sin,  let  us  not  only  watch  and  pray  continually,  that  we 
fall  not  into,  and  that  we  fall  not  in  and  by  temptation ;  but  be 
diligent,  in  the  use  of  all  appointed  means,  with  a  dependence 
upon  the  grace  of  the  Spirit,  to  mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body, 
to  stop  up  this  corrupt  fountain  of  actual  transgressions,  and  to 
waste  sin  in  its  root  and  principle. 

Now  to  God  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  three  Persons, 
but  one  God,  be  all  glory  and  honour,  henceforth  and  for 
evermore.     Amen. 


THE  SCRIPTURE  DOCTRINE 


PARTICULAR    REDEMPTION, 

STATED  AND  VINDICATED: 

IN  FOUR  SERMONS. 
By   MR.  JOHN  HURRION, 

MINISTER  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 


ADVERTISEMENT  TO  THE  READER. 

The  two  first  of  the  following  excellent  sermons  of  the  late 
learned  and  judicious  Mr.  Hurrion,  were  preached  at  the  same 
lecture,  in  which  those  of  others,  which  precede  them  in  this 
volume,  were  delivered.  As  he  had  not  time  to  go  through  this 
subject,  he  designed,  before  that  exercise  was  closed,  to  have 
preached  two  more,  but  was  hindered  by  illness.  When  this 
work  came  to  be  printed,  he  was  desired  to  add  the  sermons  he 
purposed  to  have  preached.  Being  a  little  revived,  he  tran- 
scribed the  two  first  sermons  towards  the  end  of  November, 
1731.  After  that,  he  grew  much  worse  than  he  had  been:  but 
his  desire  to  finish  this  subject,  carried  him  beyond  what  his 
strength  might  have  been  thought  to  have  admitted.  He  pur- 
posed to  insert  in  the  remaining  discourses  some  materials 
which  he  had  by  him:  with  great  difficulty  he  transcribed  the 
third  discourse,  which  he  sent  me,  with  a  letter,  dated  the  14th 
of  December,  which  was  as  follows:  "  I  have  just  finished,  and 
now  send  you,  my  third  sermon:  I  shall  go  on  with  the  fourth, 
as  fast  as  I  can;  if  possible,  I  would  finish  it  next  week,  but  I 
fear  I  shall  not  be  able,  I  have  been  so  much  worse,  since  I 
wrote  to  you  last.  I  would  desire  you  to  take  care  of  my  poor 
copy,  and  use  freedom  in  correcting  what  mistakes  I  may  have 
been  guilty  of  It  is  no  wonder  to  find  such  in  my  performances 
at  any  time,  and  especially  now,  so  ill  am  I,  and  so  often  taken 

141 


142  ADVERTISEMENT. 

off  from  my  work  by  great  pains.  Pray  for  me,  that  I  may 
have  grace  sufficient  for  me;  and  that  whether  I  live  or  die,  I 
may  be  the  Lord's,  and  to  the  praise  of  his  glorious  grace." 
When  I  came  to  look  over  the  discourse,  I  was  amazed,  that 
when  unwieldiness  of  body  had  increased  so  much  upon,  and 
when  he  was  under  such  a  faint  distemper  as  the  dropsy,  he 
should  have  vigour  of  mind  to  draw  up  such  a  performance ; 
which,  for  vivacity  and  closeness  of  thought,  strength  of  argu- 
ment, and  clearness  of  style,  is  not  in  the  least  inferior  to  any  of 
his  other  works.  It  was  very  little  above  a  fortnight  after,  that 
he  rested  from  his  labours;  for  on  the  thirty-first  day  of  the 
above  mentioned  month,  he  sweetly  slept  in  Jesus:  so  that  it 
may  be  said,  that  he  composed  the  sermon  while  he  struggled 
with  death,  and  that  it  contains  some  of  the  last  thoughts  of  an 
eminent  saint,  who,  in  a  few  days  after  it  was  finished,  began 
to  ascribe,  in  the  upper  world,  salvation,  and  power,  and  glory, 
to  the  Redeemer,  the  certain  efficacy  of  Avhose  death  he  so  well 
defended.  To  him  may  be  applied  the  following  verses  of  Mr. 
Waller: 

Wrestling  with  death,  these  lines  he  could  indite ; 
No  other  theme  could  give  his  soul  delight. 
The  soul's  dark  cottage,  battered  and  decayed, 
Lets  in  new  light,  thro'  chinks  that  time  has  made : 
Stronger  by  weakness,  wiser  men  become, 
As  they  draw  near  to  their  eternal  home : 
Leaving  the  old,  both  worlds  at  once  they  view, 
Who  stand  upon  the  threshold  of  the  new. 

He  had  begun  to  transcribe  his  fourth  sermon ;  but  illness 
increasing,  he  was  soon  forced  to  give  over.  He  proposed,  in 
the  beginning  of  it,  to  consider  the  allegations  of  the  friends  of 
universal  redemption,  from  a  set  of  scriptures,  which  speak  of 
Christ's  dying  for  those  that  perish;  but  he  only  set  down  the 
following  paragraphs,  which  were  I  believe,  the  last  lines  that 
came  from  his  pen. 

"  Our  opponents  shrewdly  argue,  that  if  Christ  died  for  them 
that  perish,  and  for  them  that  did  not  perish,  then  he  died  for 
all :  but  this  is  illogical  and  fallacious ;  for  Christ  might  die  for 
some  that  perish,  and  for  all  who  are  saved,  and  yet  not  die  for 
all  men.  From  a  particular  to  an  universal,  the  argument  will 
not  hold,  by  the  rules  of  reason :  if  the  premises  are  not  univer- 
sal, the  conclusion  cannot  justly  be  so;  but  let  us  attend  to  the 
particular  scriptures. 

"  The  apostle  Paul  says, '  Through  thy  knowledge,  shall  thy 
weak  brother  perish,  for  whom  Christ  died  ?'  1  Cor.  viii.  11.  Our 
blessed  Saviour  affirmed,  John  x.  28,  that  '  his  sheep  hear  his 
voice,  and  follow  him,  and  that  he  gives  them  eternal  life,  and 
they  shall  never  perish,  neither  shall  any  one  pluck  them  out 
of  his  hand.'     If  this  is  true,  (and  who  will  dare  to  be  guilty  of 


ADVERTISEMENT.  143 

such  blasphemy,  as  to  say  it  is  not?)  then  either  by  the  weak 
brother,  in  the  former  text,  must  be  meant  not  one  of  Christ's 
real  sheep,  or  else  his  perishing  cannot  be  understood  of  eternal 
damnation :  both  the  context,  and  the  scripture  forms  of  speech 
elsewhere,  seem  to  favour  this  last  sense;  and  therefore  the 
apostle,  1  Cor.  viii.  7,  12,  explained  this  causing  him  to  perish, 
by  defiling  and  wounding  his  weak  conscience,  and  making 
him  offend." 

I  was  unwilling  this  work  should  be  imperfect ;  therefore,  as 
I  knew  what  papers  he  intended  to  transcribe,  I  have  added 
his  answers  to  some  objections  which  he  had  not  meddled  with 
before:  he  gave  me  some  directions  about  this  several  months 
ago,  when  he  did  not  think  he  should  be  able  to  do  any  thing 
himself.  I  have  not  made  any  alterations,  as  indeed  there  was 
no  need  to  make  any,  only  I  have  ranged  the  heads  in  such  a 
method  as  may  answer  the  preceding  part.  I  am  not  certain 
whether  he  would  have  added  so  large  an  application,  but  as  it 
is  not  foreign  to  the  subject,  and  is  very  well  worth  perusal,  I 
have  given  it  as  I  found  it.  Had  these  papers  received  the 
author's  last  hand,  it  is  not  to  be  questioned  but  that  he  would 
have  made  many  useful  additions  to  them;  but,  taking  them  in 
the  condition  in  which  they  are,  there  is  no  manner  of  need  to 
make  any  excuse  for  publishing  them. 

The  worthy  person,  who  is  now  entered  into  his  Master's  joy, 
used  to  call  this  head  of  divinity,  which  relates  to  the  extent 
of  Christ's  redemption,  one  of  his  favourite  subjects.  He  had 
well  studied  it,  and  he  took  pleasure  to  be  upon  it.  When  he 
was  brought  very  low,  and  had  the  sentence  of  death  within 
himself,  he  began  the  latter  part  of  his  undertaking  with  these 
remarkable  words:  "The  death  of  Christ  being  the  fountain 
of  our  life,  there  is  nothing  more  necessary,  pleasant,  or  useful 
to  the  Christian,  than  a  right  apprehension  and  remembrance 
of  it."  The  delight  which  he  took  in  the  subject,  carried  him 
above  his  great  pain  and  weakness.  This  was  one  of  the  great 
doctrines  which  he  had  preached,  in  the  firm  belief  of  which  he 
died,  and  in  which  he  found  more  sweetness,  in  his  last  sickness, 
than  he  had  ever  done.  I  confess,  I  have  had  a  great  deal  of 
pleasure  in  perusing  and  revising  these  discourses  for  the  press ; 
and  I  heartily  wish  that  they  may  be,  by  the  divine  blessing, 
made  useful  and  beneficial  to  such  as  may  read  them,  and  may 
be  of  service  to  guard  Christians  against  the  absurd  notion  of 
universal  redemption,  the  evident  tendency  of  which  is  to  repre- 
sent Christ  as  dying  in  vain. 

A.  TAYLOR. 

March  Isf,  1731-'32. 


OF   PARTICULAR  REDEMPTION. 


SERMON  I. 

Titus  ii.  14. — Jesus  Christ  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all 
iniquity,  and  purify  to  himself  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works. 

This  chapter  begins  with  Paul's  instructions  to  Titus,  to  speak 
the  things  which  become  sound  doctrine,  or  to  press  on  several 
ranks  of  persons  such  duties,  as  would  adorn  the  doctrine  of 
God  their  Saviour,  which  doctrine  is  next  specified  in  several 
important  branches  of  it ;  such  as  the  doctrine  of  salvation  by 
grace,  and  of  the  celestial  glory  called  the  blessed  hope;  the 
doctrine  of  Christ's  Deity,  and  second  glorious  coming  to  judg- 
ment; and  the  doctrine  of  our  redemption  by  the  death  of 
Christ,  with  the  end  and  design  of  it,  ver.  11,  13,  14. 

This  last  mentioned  is  the  subject  which  falls  to  my  share  in 
this  Lecture;  which  I  shall  the  more  cheerfully  insist  upon,  be- 
cause I  find  it  to  be  one  of  those  important  points,  with  respect 
to  which  the  apostle  gave  Titus  a  charge  to  "  speak,  and  exhort, 
and  rebuke,  with  all  authority,"  ver.  15;  as  if  he  had  said,  Do 
thou  declare  these  doctrines,  and  exhort  the  hearers  to  receive 
them ;  and  rebuke,  with  all  authority,  or  powerfully  convince 
and  reprove  gainsayers,  in  such  a  manner,  that  none  may  despise 
thee. 

The  doctrine  of  our  redemption  by  Christ,  I  take  to  be  fully 
contained  in  the  words  of  my  text,  "  Christ  gave  himself  for  us, 
that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  to  himself 
a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works." 

Before  I  come  to  discourse  directly  on  this  doctrine,  I  shall 
premise  two  things. 

1.  I  shall  consider  the  extent  of  Christ's  redemption,  or  the 
persons  to  whom  it  belongs,  as  represented  in  my  text. 

2.  I  shall  show  the  weight  and  importance  of  this  doctrine. 
1st,  I  am  to  consider  the  extent  of  this  redemption,  or  the 

persons  to  whom  it  belongs,  as  represented  in  my  text. 

To  state  this  right,  we  are  to  observe  that  the  question  is  not 
whether  there  is  an  infinite  merit  and  worth  in  Christ's  redeem- 
ing blood:  this  both  parties  readily  allow.  Nor  is  it  a  matter 
in  debate  whether  many,  or  only  a  few  persons  are  redeemed 
by  Christ,  seeing  they  are  said  in  Scripture,  Rev.  v.  9,  to  be  "  a 
great  multitude  that  no  man  could  number,  of  all  nations,  and 

144 


OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  145 

kindreds,  and  people,  and  tongues,"  But  the  true  state  of  the 
question  is  this:  Wliether  according  to  the  will  of  the  Father, 
and  the  intention  of  the  Son,  Christ  died  to  reconcile  and  save 
all  men,  or  a  select  chosen  number  only;  the  latter  is  what  we 
affirm,  and  our  opponents  deny. 

Let  us  now  see  how  this  matter  is  represented  in  my  text, 
and  which  sentiment  is  approved  and  confirmed  thereby.  Christ 
"gave  himself  to  redeem  us,"  or,  by  an  expiatory  sacrifice,  to 
deliver  us  from  sin  and  misery,  and  make  us  eternally  happy. 
"  He  redeemed  us  from  the  curse,  being  made  a  curse  for  us," 
Gal.  iii.  13,  "He  redeemed  those  that  were  under  the  law, 
that  they  might  receive  the  adoption  of  sons,"  The  persons 
redeemed  are  more  generally  specified  by  the  word  us,  which 
is  a  word  often  used,  in  Scripture,  to  signify  the  elect  and  be- 
lievers; as  where  it  is  said,  "God  has  not  appointed  us  to  wrath, 
but  to  obtain  salvation  through  Jesus  Christ,  who  died  for  us 
that  we  might  live  together  with  him,"  I  Thess.  v.  9,  10.  The 
redeemed  people  are  also  represented,  in  my  text,  as  those  who, 
in  due  time,  are  redeemed  from  all  iniquity,  or  from  the  guilt 
and  power,  and  the  very  being  of  all  sin;  and  also  as  purified 
to  Christ,  or  really  sanctified,  and  made  holy,  changed  into  his 
image,  and  fitted  for  fellowship  and  communion  with  himself. 
The  redeemed  are  said  to  be  a  peculiar  people;  they  are  Christ's 
jewels,  his  treasure,  distinguished  from  others  in  his  intention, 
purchase,  esteem,  and  care;  they  are  a  chosen  generation,  and 
therefore  d^.  peculiar  or  purchased  people,  1  Pet.  ii.  9;  they  are 
the  travail  of  Christ's  soul,  the  dear  offspring  of  his  blood,  whom 
he  loved,  and  therefore  gave  himself  for  theyn.  The  redeemed 
are  also  represented  as  persons  zealous  of  good  ivorks,  works 
of  failh  and  love,  and  of  repentance  and  new  obedience;  such 
works  as  have  a  divine  life  for  the  principle  of  them,  a  divine 
direction  for  their  rule,  even  the  revealed  will  of  God,  and  a 
divine  attainment  for  the  end,  that  is,  the  glory  of  God,  To  be 
zealous  of  these  good  works,  is  to  love  them  fervently,  to  per- 
form them  diligently,  and  to  promote  them  with  industry  and 
vigour. 

According  to  this  account  of  the  redeemed  people,  let  us  see 
whether  we  are  to  believe  that  Christ  gave  himself  to  redeem 
all  men,  or  a  select  and  peculiar  number  only.  In  my  text, 
Christ  is  said  to  give  himself  for  us,  in  our  room  and  stead,  to 
satisfy  offended  justice  for  all  those  whose  iniquities  were  laid 
upon  him,  and  for  whom  he  died.  Now,  did  Christ  stand  in 
the  stead  of  all  men?  Did  he  satisfy  divine  justice  for  the  sins 
of  millions,  who  yet  suffer  the  vengeance  of  eternal  fire  for  the 
same  sins  themselves?  Or  did  Christ  make  satisfaction  for  a 
peculiar  number  only,  who  shall  never  come  into  condemna- 
tion, but  enjoy  eternal  life,  as  the  purchase  and  fruit  of  his 
death? 

19 


146  OF    PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

When  it  is  said  that  Christ  gave  himself,  that  he  misht  re- 
deem to  himself  a  peculiar  people,  can  the  meaning  be,  that  he 
died  to  render  the  salvation  of  all  men  possible?  Or,  is  it  not 
rather  meant,  that  he  died  to  render  the  salvation  of  a  select 
number  certain  and  perfect  ?  Can  we  suppose  that  Christ  died 
to  render  the  salvation  of  all  men  possible,  when  multitudes 
were  actually  in  hell,  and  so  beyond  any  possibility  of  salva- 
tion, at  the  very  time  when  Christ  suffered  ?  The  reply  made 
to  this  will  be  considered  and  confuted  hereafter.  Does  not  the 
Scripture  speak  of  the  effects  and  fruits  of  Christ's  death,  not  as 
mere  possibilities,  but  as  things  real  and  certain  ?  "  He  shall 
see  his  seed,  the  travail  of  his  soul,"  Isa.  liii.  10,  11.  Does  not 
Christ  say,  that  he  laid  down  his  life  far  his  sheep,  that  they 
should  never  perish,  but  he  would  give  them  eternal  life? 
John  X.  28. 

If  Christ  died  to  purchase  to  himself  such  as  should  be  a 
purifed  people,  zealous  of  good  ivorks,  then  surely  he  did  not 
give  himself  to  redeem  all  men,  those  who  are  never  purified, 
as  well  as  those  that  are:  if  he  gave  himself  for  a  peculiar 
people,  then  not  for  all  people;  if  for  those  who,  in  time,  are 
made  zealous  of  good  works,  then  surely  not  for  those  who  live 
and  die  enemies  to  good  works,  and  zealous  against  them. 

If  Christ  gave  himself  for  a  peculiar  people,  whom  he  valued 
as  hxsjetvels  and  treasure,  and  ivho  shall  be  his  when  he  makes 
up  his  Jewels,  then  he  did  not  give  himself  for  all  men;  for  all 
men  are  not  his  jewels  and  treasure,  or  peculiar  people,  Mai. 
iii.  16,  seeing  that  in  the  day  when  he  makes  up  his  jewels, 
there  shall  be  a  manifest  difference  between  his  jewels  and 
others,  between  the  righteous  and  the  wicked,  those  that  fear 
God,  and  those  that  fear  him  not. 

If  these  things  are  calmly  and  carefully  considered,  one  would 
think  that  any  impartial  and  understanding  person  may  be  able 
to  determine  whether  Christ,  in  giving  himself,  did  intend  to 
redeem  all  men,  or  a  chosen  and  peculiar  number  only :  if  the 
latter  is  the  true  sense  of  the  text,  as  it  appears  to  me,  we  might 
rest  here,  and  seek  no  further  evidence ;  for  the  Scriptures  do 
not  contradict  themselves;  the  Spirit  of  truth  cannot  err  or  de- 
ceive us. 

But  it  may  here  be  objected,  that  the  redemption  by  Christ 
is  as  extensive  as  the  grace  of  the  Father;  but  the  grace  of  the 
Father  appeared  to  all  men.  Tit.  ii.  11,  therefore  the  redemption 
of  the  Son  extends  to  all  men.  Here  we  shall  readily  allow, 
that  Christ  redeemed  all  men,  in  as  extensive  a  sense  as  the 
grace  of  God  is  said  to  have  appeared  to  all  men:  for  multi- 
tudes in  the  world,  before  the  writing  this  epistle,  at  that  time, 
and  since,  neither  had,  nor  even  now  have,  any  discovery  of 
this  grace  to  them.  The  all  men,  then,  to  whom  it  appeared, 
must  mean  only  some  of  all  sorts j  and  so  makes  nothing  for 


OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  147 

the  doctrine  of  universal  grace,  or  universal  redemption.  In  the 
context,  the  apostle  had  been  speaking  of  the  duties  of  aged  men 
and  women,  of  young  men  and  young  women,  and  of  servants 
to  their  masters;  to  which  he  excited  them,  by  the  considera- 
tion of  that  grace  which  has  appeared  to  all  men,  or  to  persons 
of  all  ranks  and  stations,  and  obliges  them  to  adorn  the  doctrine 
of  God  their  Saviour:  but  what  argument  can  be  drawn  from 
thence  for  universal  redemption? 

It  may  be  said,  the  several  parts  of  the  text  have  been  urged 
in  favour  of  particular  redemption;  and  it  must  be  owned,  that 
as  to  the  event  and  effect,  the  redemption  is  not,  cannot  be  uni- 
versal, seeing  all  are  not  saved  from  sin,  and  purified;  yet  the 
purpose,  design,  and  intention  of  Christ  in  giving  himself,  might 
extend  to  all  men,  though  all  men  are  not  actually  saved.  To 
which  I  reply,  that  my  text  declares  the  purpose,  design,  and 
intention  of  Christ  in  giving  himself,  even  to  redeem  from  all 
iniquity,  and  purify  to  himself  a  peculiar  people :  Can  this  mean 
all  men?  Did  Christ  intend,  in  laying  down  his  life,  to  sanctify 
and  save  all  men  ?  If  so,  then  Christ  is  frustrated  and  disap- 
pointed of  his  end:  how  then  does  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord 
prosper  in  his  hands?  How  does  he  see  his  seed,  the  travail 
of  his  soul?  or  how  does  he  give  eternal  life  to  as  many  as 
the  Father  gave  him?  If  Christ's  intention  in  giving  himself 
was  to  redeem  and  save  all  men,  and  only  some  men  are  saved, 
how  could  it  be  said,  he  shall  be  satisfied?  Isa.  liii.  11.  Could 
Christ  be  satisfied  to  have  his  intention  disappointed,  and  his 
promise  fail,  when  he  said,  "  If  I  be  lifted  up,  I  will  draw  all 
men  to  me?"  John  xii.  32.  Or  what  satisfaction  could  he  take 
in  seeing  the  Scripture  broken,  which  says,  "  He  shall  not  fail 
nor  be  discouraged  ?"  Isa.  xlii.  4,  or  in  seeing  the  will  of  the  Fa- 
ther, that  "  he  should  lose  nothing  of  all  that  were  given  him," 
frustrated  and  made  void?  Where  does  the  Scripture  speak  of 
Christ's  death,  and  the  ends  of  it  in  terms  of  uncertainty,  or  re- 
present him  as  coming  short  of  his  aim  and  intention,  in  dying 
for  sinners  ?  This  does  not  appear  to  me  to  be  a  scripture  doc- 
trine, but  an  invention  of  men,  framed  to  support  an  hypothe- 
sis, which  they  are  fond  of:  but  till  some  scripture  evidence  is 
brought  to  support  it,  we  may  justly  reject  it. — But  I  proceed 
to  the  next  thing  proposed. 

2dly.  I  shall  show  the  weight  and  importance  of  this  doc- 
trine relating  to  the  extent  of  Christ's  redemption. 

It  must  be  obvious,  to  every  diligent  inquirer  into  these 
things,  how  prone  men  generally  are  to  run  into  extremes,  in 
this,  as  well  as  in  other  things.  Some  look  upon  all  inquiries 
of  this  nature  as  vain  and  useless ;  and  others  are  so  much 
taken  up  with  them,  as  to  neglect  other  weighty  doctrines,  or 
duties  of  the  Christian  religion.  The  conduct  of  each  sort  is 
blamable  and  carefully  to  be  avoided.     With  what  vievv  and 


148  OF    PARTICULAR    REDEMPTION. 

design  Christ  laid  down  his  precious  Ufe,  is,  whatever  some 
think,  a  point  of  very  great  moment,  with  regard  to  the  sense 
of  many  scriptures,  the  glory  of  Christ,  and  of  the  divine  per- 
fections, the  encouragement  of  faith,  and  the  comfort  and  esta- 
blishment of  believers,  as  may  more  fully  appear  hereafter.  A 
clear  decisiori  of  the  controversy  upon  this  head,  must  be  allow- 
ed to  be  of  very  great  service  towards  the  removal  of  the  heavy 
imputations  with  which  the  contending  parties  load  each  other's 
scheme,  and  to  allay  our  heats,  and  remove  our  divisions,  that 
we  might  "  stand  fast  in  one  spirit,  striving  together  for  the  faith 
of  the  gospel,"  against  the  common  enemy,  who  is  sapping  and 
subverting  the  very  foundations  of  it. 

A  late  writer,*  has  had  the  confidence  to  tell  the  world,  in 
print,  that  the  training  up  his  apostles  was  the  work,  or  the 
main  work  that  God  had  given  Christ  to  do,  and  that  it  was  his 
principal  design,  in  giving  up  himself  a  sacrifice,  that  he  might 
enable  them  by  his  death,  and  what  would  follow  it,  his  resur- 
rection, ascension,  and  the  sending  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  preach 
with  success,  and  spread  his  kingdom  in  the  world:  "What 
words,"  says  our  author,  "  can  well  raise  our  idea  of  the  office 
of  the  apostles  higher,  than  that  Jesus  lived  and  died,  to  prepare 
them  for  the  due  discharge  of  that  trust?"    We  may  add,  what 
words  can  sink  our  idea  of  Christ's  office  lower,  or  cover  the 
design  of  his  death  with  more  disgrace?    If  Christ's  principal 
design  in  giving  up  himself  a  sacrifice,  was  to  prepare  the  apos- 
tles for  the  true  discharge  of  their  work,  we  need  not  trouble 
ourselves  about  the  general  or  special  ends  of  his  death,  whe- 
ther he  gave  himself  to  redeem  all  men  or  some  only;  nor  much 
concern  ourselves  with  what  the  apostle  meant,  by  Christ's  giv- 
ing himself  to  redeem  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  to  himself  a 
peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works;  seeing,  according  to  our 
author,  this  was  not  Christ's  principal  end  and  intention,  in  dy- 
ing to  save  men ;  but  to  set  up  the  apostles  above  himself,  and 
obtain  a  kingdom  by  their  means.     It  is  very  strange  that  the 
apostle  should  forget  all  this  dignity,  to  which  Christ,  by  his 
death,  had  advanced  him,  and  not  say  one  word  of  it,  in  the 
account  which  he  gives  us  of  the  end  and  design  of  Christ's 
death.     Further,  to  what  purpose  are  we  told  that  Christ  gave 
himself  for  us,  to  reconcile  and  bring  us  to  God,  that  he  pur- 
chased the  church  with  his  own  blood,  and  obtained  eternal  re- 
demption for  us,  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  own 
blood?    How  little  reason  had  the  church  to  adore  and  praise 
him  for  this,  if  the  chief  business  of  his  life  and  death  was  to 
procure  apostles,  to  preach  the  gospel,  and  advance  his  king- 
dom in  the  world  ? 

Forasmuch  then  as  things  are  come  to  this  pass  among  us, 

*  Lord  Barrington,  in  his  Miscellanea  Sacra,  Vol.  II.  p.  76,  77. 


OF    PARTICULAR    REDEMPTION.  149 

and  the  intention  and  design  of  Christ's  death  is  not  only  mis- 
taken by  some,  as  to  the  number  of  the  redeemed,  but  wliich  is 
infinitely  worse,  seeing  it  is  so  openly  and  impiously  perverted 
and  denied  by  others,  it  is  high  time  to  make  a  strict  inquiry 
into  this  matter,  and,  if  possible,  to  find  out  and  establish  the 
true  end  and  design  of  Christ's  death,  according  to  the  scripture 
account  thereof;  and  especially,  seeing  the  sacred  writings  speak 
so  much  of  it,  and  lay  such  a  stress  upon  it,  with  regard  to  the 
glory  of  God,  and  the  salvation  of  men.  And  it  ought  to  be 
considered,  whether  the  rendering  the  end  of  Christ's  death  so 
precarious  to  all,  and  the  allowing,  as  some  must  do,  the  disap- 
pointment of  his  intention  therein  to  so  many,  has  not  tempted 
many  to  run  the  desperate  length  of  denying  all  its  atoning  vir- 
tue and  salutary  effects.  If  this  is  found  to  be  true,  of  what  im- 
portance must  it  be  to  understand  and  hold  fast  the  true  design 
and  intention  of  Christ,  in  giving  himself  to  redeem  sinners  ? 
More,  I  think,  need  not  be  added,  as  to  the  importance  of  the 
point  in  hand;  I  shall  therefore  throw  what  I  have  to  say  upon 
it  under  two  heads. 

I.  I  shall  endeavour  to  establish  and  confirm  the  doctrine  of 
particular  redemption,  in  several  distinct  propositions;  and 
shall  make  plain  deductions  from  them. 

II.  I  shall  answer  the  principal  arguments,  and  vindicate  the 
chief  passages  of  Scripture  produced  in  opposition  thereto. 

I.  I  shall  confirm  and  establish  the  doctrine  of  particular 
redemption ;  or  prove  that  Christ  did  not  give  himself  to  redeem 
all  men,  but  to  redeem  and  actually  save,  a  chosen  and  peculiar 
number;  this,  which  I  take  to  be  the  truth,  I  shall  endeavour  to 
prove,  under  several  distinct  propositions. 

1.  The  Fat/ier\s  election,  and  the  Son^s  redemption,  are  of 
the  same  extent,  or  relate  to  the  same  individual  persons,  to  all 
such,  and  to  none  else ;  all  the  chosen  people  are  redeemed,  and 
all  the  redeemed  are  chosen  to  salvation,  "  through  the  sprink- 
ling of  the  blood  of  Jesus,"  1  Pet.  i.  2. 

The  life  which  Christ  procured  by  his  death,  and  which  he 
applies  by  his  Spirit,  is  by  him  bestowed  on  those  very  persons 
whom  the  Father  had  given  him;  he  said  of  himself  thus; 
"  That  he  should  give  eternal  life  to  as  many  as  thou  hast  given 
him,"  John  xvii.  2,  \vhich  words  are  restrictive  and  plainly 
limited  to  the  elect,  whom  the  Father  gave  to  Christ  to  redeem 
by  his  death;  and  thus  election  and  redemption  answer  each 
other.  Christ  being  made  perfect,  through  sufferings,  brings 
the  many  sons  to  glory,  and  presents  them  to  the  Father,  say- 
ing, "  Behold  I,  and  the  children  which  God  hath  given  me," 
Heb.  ii.  10,  13.  Those  given  to  Christ,  and  brought  to  glory 
by  him,  are  those  for  whom  he  was  made  perfect  through  suf- 


150  OF    PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

ferings,  so  exact  an  agreement  is  there  between  the  Father' 
choice,  and  the  Son's  purchase;  they  both  pursue  the  same 
intention,  and  each  person  does  his  part  to  make  the  same  indi- 
vidual persons  happy.  Hence  it  is  said,  "  Who  shall  lay  any 
thing  to  the  charge  of  God's  elect?  it  is  God  that  justifies;  who 
is  he  that  condemns?  it  is  Christ  that  died,"  Rom.  viii.  33,  34. 
Seeing  Christ  died  for  the  elect,  and  God  the  Father  justifies 
those  for  whom  Christ  died,  who  shall  condemn  them  whom 
the  Father  has  chosen,  and  the  Son  has  redeemed,  by  his  most 
precious  blood  ? 

Christ  has  told  us  in  express  terms,  that  "he  came  down 
from  heaven  to  do  the  will  of  him  that  sent  him,"  which  will  he 
declared  to  be,  "  that  of  all  which  he  had  given  him,  he  should 
lose  nothing,  but  should  raise  it  up  at  the  last  day,"  John  vi.  38, 
39.  The  resurrection  here  spoken  of  shows,  that  they  are  per- 
sons which  the  Father  gave  the  Son  to  redeem,  and  preserve  to 
eternal  life;  none  of  which  given  and  redeemed  persons  can  be 
lost,  because  it  is  the  Father's  will  that  they  should  not;  and  the 
Son  came  to  fulfil  that  will,  and  has  assured  us,  that  all  that 
the  Father  gives  him  shall  come  to  him,  and  that  he  will  cast 
out  none  of  them,  but  raise  up  every  believer  at  the  last  day, 
John  vi.  37,  40.  So  exactly  do  the  Father's  election  and  the 
Son's  redemption  agree,  with  respect  to  the  persons  chosen  and 
redeemed. 

This  also  plainly  appears,  from  those  scripture  passages, 
"  According  as  he  hath  chosen  us  in  him ;  in  whom  we  have  re- 
demption through  his  blood,"  Eph.  i.  4,  7.  They  are  evidently 
the  same  persons  who  are  first  said  to  be  chosen,  and  then  to 
be  redeemed  by  the  blood  of  Christ ;  so  exactly  commensurate 
is  the  latter  to  the  former.  And  we  may  observe,  that  there  is 
not,  here  or  elsewhere,  the  least  intimation  that  Christ's  re- 
demption either  exceeds  or  falls  short  of  the  Father's  election, 
in  one  single  instance,  or  individual  person.  All  who  were 
chosen  are  redeemed,  and  all  who  are  redeemed  in  time  were 
chosen  from  eternity. 

The  same  truth  is  signified  in  that  scripture,  "  That  Jesus 
should  die  for  that  nation,  and  not  for  that  nation  only,  but  also 
that  he  should  gather  together  in  one  the  children  of  God  that 
were  scattered  abroad,"  John  xi.  51,  52;  even  the  elect  people, 
dispersed  throughout  the  world.  These  Christ  was  to  draw  to 
himself,  by  the  virtue  of  his  death,  according  to  his  own  words; 
"  I,  if  I  am  lifted  up  (crucified)  will  draw  all  men  to  me,"  John 
xii.  32 ;  all  those  who  are  the  sons  of  God  by  election,  or,  to 
use  the  apostle's  phrase,  who  are  predestinated  to  the  adop- 
tion of  children,  Eph.  i.  5. 

The  truth  of  the  proposition  that  the  Father's  election  and 
the  Son's  redemption  are  of  the  same  extent,  or  that  jChrist  died 
for  all  chosen,  and  those  only  who  were  given  to  him  by  the 


OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  151 

Father,  I  think,  is  fully  proved  by  the  scriptures  alleged ;  the 
plain  deduction  and  inference  from  which  is,  that  Christ  did 
not  give  himself  to  redeem  all  men,  but  a  select  number  only. 

2.  Clirist's  redemption  is  absolute,  certain,  and  perfect. 

By  its  being  absolute  and  certain,  I  mean,  that  Christ's 
redemption  did  not  depend  upon  any  previous  desert  in  man; 
nor  is  the  efficacy  of  it  suspended  upon  the  free  will  of  man, 
so  as  it  should  be  in  his  power  to  make  it  effectual,  or  ineffec- 
tual, as  he  pleases.  This  redemption  is  said  to  be  perfect,  with 
respect  to  the  end  or  effect  of  it,  that  is,  the  perfect  happiness 
of  all  the  redeemed,  who  are  freed  from  all  sin,  and  all  the 
penal  consequences  of  it. 

We  have  been  often  told,  that  Christ  died  conditionally  for 
all  men,  but  absolutely  for  no  man;  that  he  procured  recon- 
ciliation and  remission  of  sins  for  all  men,  and  yet  it  might 
have  so  happened,  as  that  not  one  person  should  have  enjoyed 
either  pardon  or  peace  with  God,  seeing,  as  some  say,  Christ 
left  it  to  men,  to  embrace  or  refuse  the  atonement,  as  they 
pleased.  But  Christ  himself  asserts,  that  all  that  the  Father 
gave  him  shall  come  to  him,  John  vi.  37.  How  low  and 
mean  a  notion  of  redemption  is  it  to  say,  that  Christ  made  only 
a  conditional  purchase,  and  left  it  in  the  power  of  man  to 
render  it  effectual,  by  believing,  or  to  make  it  null  and  void  by 
•imbelief,  as  he  would?  How  much  this  opinion  tends  to  exalt 
the  power  and  pride  of  the  sinner,  and  to  depreciate  the  love 
and  redemption  of  Christ,  one  would  think  must  be  evident  to 
every  intelligent  person  at  the  first  view.  That  without  faith 
no  man  can  enjoy  eternal  redemption  is  certain ;  but  that  Christ 
has  left  it  to  men  to  make  void  the  ends  of  his  death,  and  the 
intention  of  his  redeeming  love,  as  they  please,  is  contrary  to 
Scripture,  and  all  good  sense.  Faith  is  not  of  a  man's  self,  it 
is  the  gift  of  God,  Eph.  ii.  8;  but  it  is  also  the  purchase  of 
Christ's  blood,  and  is  certainly  wrought  in  the  hearts  of  the 
redeemed^  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  on  the  account  of  the  Father's 
election  and  Christ's  redemption,  Titus  i.  1;  therefore  it  is  styled 
"the  faith  of  God's  elect,  obtained  through  the  righteousness 
of  God  our  Saviour,"  2  Peter  i.  1.  Hence  Christ  said,  that 
his  sheep  shall  hear  his  voice,  iohw  x.  16.  Christ  spoke  not 
doubtfully,  but  with  certainty  and  resolution;  he  did  not  say, 
they  shall  hear  my  voice,  if  they  will ;  if  not,  I  submit  my  will 
and  my  work  to  their  will  and  pleasure.  As  Christ  died  for 
men,  without  asking  their  previous  consent,  so  he  makes  them 
willing  in  the  day  of  his  poiver,  Psalm  ex.  3;  and  renders  his 
redemption  certainly  effectual  to  all  those  persons,  and  for  all 
those  ends,  for  which  he  gave  himself.  When  it  is  said,  that 
"  Christ  is  entered  into  heaven  for  us,  having  obtained  eternal 
redemption  for  us,  by  his  blood,"  Heb.  ix.  12,  24;  can  any 
thing  less  be  meant,  than  that  Christ,  having  made  a  perfect 


152  OF    PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

and  absolute  purchase  of  salvation,  by  his  death,  ascended  to 
heaven,  to  appear  in  the  presence  of  God  for  the  redeemed,  and 
to  secure  their  actual  and  eternal  enjoyment  of  that  salvation? 
If  it  be  said,  that  Christ  obtained  redemption  for  all  such  as 
will  have  it,  it  must  be  granted;  but  then  none  will  have  it,  but 
such  as  God  makes  willing,  as  he  certainly  does  all  his  elect, 
and  none  else. 

The  Scriptures  speak  of  the  intention  and  effect  of  Christ's 
death,  in  tiie  most  absolute  and  certain  terms :  "  When  enemies, 
we  were  reconciled  to  God,  by  the  death  of  his  Son,  and  shall 
much  more  be  saved  by  his  life,"  Romans  v.  10.  "  He  died 
for  us,  that  we  should  live  together  with  him,"  1  Thess.  v.  10. 
"  God  hath  appointed  us  to  obtain  salvation  by  Jesus  Christ," 
verse  9;  or  actually  to  enjoy  it.  Whatever  obstacles  lay  in  the 
way, Christ  undertook  to  remove;  whatever  is  necessary  to  fit  the 
redeemed  for  glory,  he  will  see  accomplished,  and  never  leave 
his  sheep,  for  wboni  he  laid  down  his  life,  John  x.  2S;  nor 
part  witli  them  out  of  his  hand,  but  will  bring  them  all  safe  to 
heaven;  he  has  given  us  his  word  for  it,  that  they  shall  never 
perish,  but  he  will  give  them  eternal  life.  Christ  gave  himself 
for  us,  to  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  absolutely,  not  condition- 
ally, if  we  would;  but  he  gave  himself,  with  resolution  to  carry 
the  work  through,  and  make  it  effectual;  this,  I  think,  is  plainly 
the  sense  of  my  text. 

I  cannot  forbear  digressing  so  far,  as  to  observe  what  a  glo- 
rious redemption  this  is,  worthy  of  him  that  contrived  it,  and 
of  him  that  procured  it,  and  infinitely  superior  to  that  condi- 
tional redemption,  which  subjects  the  will  and  merits  of  Christ 
to  the  caprice  and  humour  of  sinners,  and  represents  him  as  a 
well  meaning,  but  weak  Redeemer,  who  intended  to  save  all 
men,  but  could  not  accomplish  his  design,  by  reason  of  men's 
not  doing  their  part.  According  to  our  opponents,  Christ's  pur- 
chase respected  his  Father  rather  than  men;  it,  as  they  say,  pro- 
cured God  a  right  and  power  to  save  men  on  what  conditions 
he  pleased  ;  so  that  when  it  is  said,  that  God  was  reconciled, 
it  is  only  meant  that  he  was  reconcilable,  and  Christ  did  not 
procure  salvation,  but  only  a  salvability;  he  was  but  a  titular 
Saviour,  a  Saviour  without  salvation,  and  a  Redeemer  without 
redemption:  Christ  is  only  the  remote  cause,  but  man  the  imme- 
diate cause;  Christ  the  potential,  but  man  the  actual  cause  of 
his  own  redemption.     Is  this  honourable  to  Christ  ? 

If  Christ  died  conditionally  for  all  men,  to  save  them,  pro- 
vided they  would  believe  and  repent,  the  question  is.  Whether 
he  procured  these  conditions,  repentance  and  faith,  for  all  men; 
if  not,  how  shall  they  come  by  them?  If  he  did,  why  do  not 
all  receive  them?  seeing  "Christ  is  exalted  to  be  a  Prince  and 
a  Saviour,  to  give  repentance  and  remission  of  sins."  If  he 
does  not  give  them,  is  it  either  for  want  of  power,  or  for  want 


OF   PARTICULAR   REDEIMPTION.  153 

of  will  ?  How  can  he  want  power,  who  is  "  God  over  all, 
blessed  for  ever;"  and,  as  Mediator,  "has  all  power  in  heaven 
and  earth  committed  to  him?"  And  if  it  proceeds  from  a  want 
of  will  in  Christ,  that  they  do  not  receive  them,  how  then  did 
he  intentionally  redeem  all  men,  if  he  withholds  the  conditions 
upon  which  it  is  suspended  ?  If  it  is  said,  it  was  not  agreed 
between  the  Father  and  the  Son  that  these  conditions  should 
be  bestowed  on  all  men,  then  it  was  because  it  was  not  the 
intention  of  the  Father  and  die  Son,  that  they  should  receive 
them,  and  so  be  saved ;  and  if  it  is  so,  then  neither  Father  nor 
Son  really  intended  that  all  men  should  be  redeemed  and 
saved;  for  who  has  resisted  their  will?  Whatever  they  intend- 
ed to  do  shall  be  done.  The  matter  is  not  left  at  uncertainties; 
Christ's  redemption  is  absolute,  certain,  and  perfect ;  and  hence 
it  follows,  that  Christ  did  not  die  to  redeem  all  men,  seeing 
all  men  do  not  enjoy  an  absolute,  certain,  and  perfect  redemp- 
tion. 

3.  Christ's  suretiship  and  sufferings  B.xe  of  the  same  extent; 
Christ  died  to  redeem  all,  and  only  those,  whose  debt  he,  as 
their  surety,  undertook  to  pay. 

Christ  is  expressly  said  to  be  the  Surety  of  a  better  testa- 
ment, or  covenant,  Heb.  vii.  22.  But  the  question  is,  whether 
Christ  is  only  a  Surety  on  God's  part  to  us,  as  some  affirm,  or 
a  surety  on  our  part  to  God,  as  others  assert  ?  When  God  said, 
"sacrifice  and  otfering  he  would  not;"  or  when  he  declared, 
that  he  would  not  accept  the  legal  sacrifices,  as  an  atonement 
for  the  sins  of  men,  then  Christ  said,  "  Lo,  I  come,  to  do  thy 
will,  0  God,"  Psal.  xl.  8:  i.  e.  I  put  myself  in  the  place  of  thy 
chosen  people;  and,  according  to  thy  will,  I  will  suffer  in  their 
stead,  be  a  sacrifice  for  their  sins,  pay  their  debt,  and  redeem 
them  from  death.  For  this  end,  "  God  laid  upon  him  the  ini- 
quity of  us  all ;  the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  him, 
and  by  his  stripes  we  are  healed,"  Isa.  liii.  6.  What  other 
reason  can  be  given  why  our  sins  should  be  laid  and  punished 
upon  Christ  ?  or,  why  we  should  be  healed  by  his  stripes,  but 
his  suretiship,  or  standing  in  our  place,  room,  and  stead,  and  so 
suflering  the  just  for  the  unjust,  or  giving  his  life  a  ransom  for 
many?  On  this  account,  we  find  God  the  Father  restipulating 
to  Christ  that  he  should  "  see  his  seed,  the  travail  of  his  soul, 
and  should  be  satisfied,"  verse  11.  There  was  an  exact  agree- 
ment between  Christ's  payment  and  purchase,  between  the 
price  he  paid,  and  the  persons  he  redeemed ;  he  paid  the  full 
debt  of  all,  for  whom  he  was  Surety,  and  he  secures  the  eter- 
nal redemption  of  every  one,  for  whom  he  made  the  payment. 
We  could  neither  pay  the  debt  which  we  had  contracted,  nor 
purchase  the  inheritance  which  we  had  forfeited,  nor  claim  the 
promises  which  are  yea  and  amen,  only  in  Christ.  It  is 
therefore  by  means  of  his  death,  in  our  room  and  stead,  that 

20 


154  OF    PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

we  "  receive  the  promise  of  the  eternal  inheritance,"  Heb.  ix. 
15. 

The  grand  question  here  is,  For  whom  was  Christ  surety, 
whose  debt  did  he  pay,  whose  freedom  did  he  procure  ?  Let 
the  event  declare  this;  for  certainly  Christ  did  not  die  in  vain, 
or  purchase  deliverance,  and  yet  lose  the  price  he  paid,  nor  any 
part  of  the  purchase  he  made;  for  that  would  be  contrary  to 
all  the  rules  of  justice  and  righteousness.  Who  then  are  they 
that  are  delivered  from  the  wrath  to  come,  and  shall  inherit 
everlasting  life?  Is  this  the  lot  of  all  men,  or  of  some  only? 
If  of  some  only,  as  matter  of  fact  proves,  then  Christ  was  not 
the  Surety  of  all  men;  he  did  not  die  to  redeem  all  men,  but 
some  only.  If  Christ  had  been  Surety  of  the  covenant  for  all 
men,  and  had  purchased  grace  and  salvation  for  all  men,  then 
all  men  should  certainly  enjoy  them,  Psal.  Ixxxix.  33,  34;  for 
God  could  not  break  his  covenant,  nor  suffer  his  faithfulness  to 
fail. 

If  it  is  said,  that  Christ  died  to  procure  and  establish  a  cove- 
nant of  grace  with  all  mankind,  and  that  every  man  is  born 
under  this  covenant,  and  that  the  works  of  nature  reveal  this 
covenant  to  all  men,  and  call  all  men  into  it ;  I  answer,  that  the 
Scriptures  no  where  speak  of  such  an  universal  covenant  of 
grace,  procured  by  Christ,  or  made  with  men.  If  there  was 
such  a  covenant  subsisting,  surely  it  should  have  been  revealed 
and  made  known  to  all  men;  but  multitudes  of  persons,  yea 
nations,  never  had  the  knowledge  of  this  covenant.  God,  at 
first,  made  a  distinction  between  the  seed  of  the  woman,  and 
the  seed  of  the  serpent,  which  has  been  kept  up  ever  since. 
Gen.  iii.  15.  The  covenant  was  established  with  Abel,  and  Cain 
was  rejected;  Abel  being  slain,  Seth  was  raised  up,  as  the  seed 
of  the  covenant ;  after  him,  Noah  and  his  family  were  taken 
into  covenant  with  God,  and  the  old  world  rejected  and  de- 
stroyed: after  that,  God  established  his  covenant  with  Abra- 
ham, Isaac,  and  Jacob,  whilst  Ishmael  and  Esau  were  excluded. 
And  the  Jews  were  God's  covenant  people ;  but  the  rest  of  the 
nations  were  suffered  to  walk  in  their  own  ways.  And,  to  this 
day,  there  are  great  numbers,  not  only  of  persons,  but  of  nations, 
who  never  heard  of  Christ,  or  the  covenant  of  grace,  and  are 
they  yet  in  or  under  this  covenant?  "  How  shall  they  believe 
in  him,  of  whom  they  have  not  heard?"  Rom.  x.  14.  The 
works  of  nature,  indeed,  teach  men  many  things  concerning 
God,  as  a  Creator,  but  not  as  a  Redeemer:  they  discover  his 
being,  power,  wisdom,  goodness,  and  providence;  but  not  his 
saving  grace  and  good  pleasure  in  Christ,  nor  Christ's  merit, 
intercession  or  government;  nor  can  they  instruct  men  in  the 
nature  of  the  covenant  established  upon  those  better  promises, 
in  the  hands  of  a  Mediator,  Heb.  viii.  6,  or  discover  to  them 
the  perpetuity  of  those  promises,  which  are  yea  and  amen  in 


OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  155 

Christ  Jesus,  or  that  eternal  Ufe  comprised  in  the  covenant,  but 
given  only  in  and  through  the  Son  of  God.  These  things  were 
hid  from  ages  and  generations,  who  cannot  therefore  be  sup- 
posed, by  the  works  of  nature,  to  be  called  into  the  covenant 
of  grace.  Moreover,  if  all  men  are  brought  under  a  covenant 
of  grace,  how  could  the  apostle  speak  of  some  "  still  under  the 
law,  and  under  the  curse,"  Gal.  iii.  10,  "  children  of  wrath,  and 
strangers  to  the  covenant  of  promise,  without  Christ,  without 
hope,  and  without  God  in  the  world,"  Eph.  ii.  3,  12,  especially 
if  Christ  was  the  surety  of  an  universal  covenant? 

If  Christ  is  the  surety  of  a  covenant,  which,  though  it  in- 
cludes an  innumerable  company,  yet  not  all  men,  then  he  is 
not  the  surety  of  all  men,  and  consequently  did  not  die  to  re- 
deem all  men;  for  on  what  grounds  can  it  be  said  that  he  died 
for  any  more,  or  others,  than  those  for  whom  he  is  surety? 
How  could  he  be  required  to  die,  and  satisfy  divine  justice  for 
any  men,  otherwise  than  as  he  had  voluntarily  put  himself  in 
their  room,  and  had  undertaken  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  the 
law  and  justice  of  God  on  their  behalf?  If  Christ  was  the 
surety  of  an  universal  covenant,  then  he  paid  the  debts  of  all 
men,  made  satisfaction  for  the  sins  of  all  men,  otherwise  he 
would  not  have  fulfilled  his  trust,  nor  have  been  faithful  either 
to  God  or  man.  And  if  he  did  satisfy  for  the  sins  of  all  men, 
then,  in  justice  all  men  must  be  exempted  from  sufl'ering  for 
them,  and  so  hell  is  dispeopled  at  once,  or  else  a  double  satis- 
faction would  be  required  for  the  same  sins,  which  is  as  con- 
trary to  God's  justice,  as  to  have  none  at  all.  Upon  the  whole, 
seeing  multitudes  sutler  the  vengeance  of  eternal  fire,  for  their 
own  sins,  it  is  evident,  that  Christ  was  not  the  surety  of  an 
universal  covenant  of  grace,  was  not  the  surety  of  all  men: 
and  hence  the  conclusion  clearly  and  strongly  follows,  that  he 
did  not  give  himself  to  redeem  all  men. 

4.  Christ's  oblation  and  intercession  relate  to  the  same  per- 
sons. 

"  He  bore  the  sins  of  many,  and  made  intercession  for  the 
transgressors;"  Isa.  liii.  12.  For  what  transgressors?  for  those 
whose  sins  he  bore.  To  offer  for  the  sins  of  the  people,  and  to 
pray  for  them,  were  the  two  main  parts  of  the  priestly  office, 
under  the  law,  and  of  Christ's  priestly  office,  as  it  is  represented 
under  the  gospel.  "  It  is  Christ  that  died,  who  also  makes  in- 
tercession for  us;"  Rom.  viii.  34.  And  again,  "  We  have  an 
advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous,  who  also 
is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins;"  1  John  ii.  1,  2.  The  one  an- 
swers the  other:  the  intercession  is  founded  upon  the  propitia- 
tion. There  is  no  reason  to  think  that  Christ  died  for  those  for 
whom  he  would  not  intercede,  or  that  he  mterceded  for  any  for 
whom  he  did  not  die;  the  Scriptures  apply  both  to  the  same 
persons,  or  speak  of  them  as  done  both  for  the  same  persons. 


156  OF    PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

There  are  some  for  whom  we  are  not  to  pray,  1  John  v.  16; 
and  can  we  think  that  Christ  prayed  for  them  himself?  What 
is  Christ's  intercession,  bnt  a  presenting  to  the  Father  that 
sacrifice  which  he  had  otTered  for  the  sins  of  men,  with  a  desire 
that  they  may  enjoy  the  blessings  pnrchased  thereby?  Christ 
has  told  us,  "  That  he  did  not  pray  for  the  world,"  John  xvii.  9. 
therefore  he  did  not  die  for  the  world,  as  the  word  is  taken,  for 
all  men;  for  if  he  had  offered  the  sacrifice  for  all,  it  would  bear 
a  plea  for  all;  and  we  cannot  conceive  that  Christ  should  refuse 
to  intercede  for  any,  whom  he  loved  so  well  as  to  bleed  and 
die  for  them.  If  it  is  said,  that  Christ  foresaw  the  unworfhi- 
ness  of  the  wicked  world,  and  therefore  resolved  not  to  pray 
for  them,  it  may  be  also  said,  that  he  foresaw  the  unworthiness 
of  the  wicked  world,  and  therefore  would  not  die  for  them ;  for 
what  reason  can  be  given  why  that  wickedness  and  unworthi- 
ness, which  is  supposed  to  hinder  Christ's  praying  for  them, 
should  not  also  hinder  his  dying  for  them? 

But  it  may  be  said,  Christ  prayed  for  those  that  crucified 
him:  he  prayed  for  Jerusalem,  and  therefore  doth  not  limit  his 
intercession  to  the  elect.  I  answer,  that  those  for  whom  Christ 
prayed  on  the  cross,  were  afterwards  converted,  and  so  appear- 
ed to  be  of  the  number  of  God's  chosen;  and  it  cannot  thence 
be  proved  that  he  prayed  for  the  forgiveness  of  all  men:  if  he 
did  or  does,  one  of  those  two  absurdities  will  follow,  either  that 
the  Father  does  not  alicays  hear  Christ,  John  xi.  42,  or  that 
all  men  shall  be  forgiven ;  both  which  are  contrary  to  Scripture. 
As  to  Jerusalem,  Christ's  words  relating  thereto,  are  not  pro- 
perly a  prayer,  but  rather  an  act  of  human  compassion  towards 
the  miserable.  It  is  not  to  be  thought  that  Christ  would  pray 
for  what  he  knew  could  not  be  granted,*  and  he  expressly  says, 
"  That  the  things  of  their  peace  were  now  hid  from  their  eyes," 
Luke  ix.  42.  Besides,  it  might  be  their  civil,  not  their  eternal 
peace,  which  is  spoken  of;  and  then  no  argument  can  thence 
be  drawn  for  Christ  praying  for  the  eternal  salvation  of  any  be- 
sides those  given  him  of  the  Father. 

If  then  it  holds  true  that  Christ  intercedes  only  for  those 
given  him  out  of  the  world,  and  if  he  intercedes  for  all  for  whom 
he  died,  then  he  did  not  die  for  all  men,  seeing  all  men  were  not 
given  to  him  by  the  Father;  and  he  does  not  intercede  for  all 
men,  not  for  the  world,  but  for  a  peculiar  number  given  him 
out  of  the  world.  A  part  given  him  out  of  the  world  cannot 
mean  the  whole  world;  neither  can  the  words  of  Christ,  "  1  pray 
not  for  the  world,"  John  xvii.  9,  20,  be  restrained  to  the  apos- 

*  Or,  as  some  think,  Christ  refers  to  his  prophetic  office  in  these  words,  "  O 
that  tliou  liadst  known  at  least  in  this  thy  day,  the  things  that  belong  to  thy 
peace,  and  how  often  would  I  have  gathered  thee,"  viz.  the  tendency  of  my 
ministry  was  to  show  the  way  of  life  and  peace,  but  ye  refused  instruction.— 
Collat.  Fiscal,  cum  Vorstio,  pp.  2,  94. 


I 


OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  157 

lies,  because  in  the  same  prayer  he  says,  "Neither  pray  I  for 
these  alone,  but  for  those  also  who  shall  believe  on  me,  through 
their  word."  Christ's  prayer  then  extends  to  all  such,  as  in 
time  believe,  and  to  none  else:  and  therefore  so  does  his  death, 
seeing,  as  has  been  proved,  his  oblation  and  intercession  relate 
to  the  same  persons. 

5.  Christ  did  not  die  to  procure  the  remission  of  their  sins, 
whose  sins  he  knew  beforehand  were  irremissible;  for  that 
would  have  been,  so  far,  to  have  died  in  vain.  It  would  not 
have  been  to  have  done  his  Father's  will,  but  to  have  acted  in 
direct  opposition  to  it,  in  purchasing  remission  for  those  whose 
sins  can  never  be  forgiven.  "  The  blasphemy  against  the  Holy 
Ghost  shall  never  be  forgiven  to  men,"  Mat.  xii.  31.  This 
Christ  declared  with  his  own  mouth;  and  did  he,  after  such  a 
declaration,  die  to  procure  the  pardon  of  their  sins,  who  can 
never  be  forgiven?  Far  be  it  from  us  to  impute  such  a  weak- 
ness and  absurdity  to  the  only  wise  God  our  Saviour.  Does 
Christ  forbid  us  to  pray  for  the  pardon  of  that  sin,  1  John  v.  1 6, 
and  yet  did  he  shed  his  blood  to  procure  the  pardon  of  those 
that  were  guilty  of  it?  And  if  he  did  not  die  for  them,  then  he 
did  not  die  for  all  men. 

It  will,  I  suppose,  be  generally  allowed,  that  the  sins  of  those 
actually  in  hell,  are  irremissible,  for  "  there  the  fire  is  never 
quenched,  and  the  worm  dieth  not,"  Mark  ix.  43,  44,  and  out 
of  that  place  there  is  no  redemption.  At  the  very  time  when 
Christ  suffered,  there  were  multitudes  in  that  place  of  torment; 
and  how  absurd  is  it  to  suppose  that  Christ  paid  the  price  of 
redemption  for  millions,  who  at  that  very  instant  were  suffering 
the  vengeance  of  eternal  fire  for  their  own  sins?  If  it  is  said, 
is  it  not  as  absurd  for  Christ  to  pay  the  price  of  their  redemp- 
tion, who  were  actually  in  heaven  at  the  time  of  payment,  and 
so  stood  in  no  need  of  it?  To  this  we  may  reply,  that  those 
who  were  in  heaven  when  Christ  died,  were  admitted  on  the 
credit  of  that  purchase  which  he  had  undertaken  to  make  for 
them :  but  Christ  could  not  die  for  the  damned,  upon  any  sup- 
position of  their  deliverance  and  salvation,  or  by  virtue  of  any 
engagement,  on  his  part,  to  deliver  them.  But  it  may  be  urged, 
that  Christ  was  to  pay  the  price  of  the  day  and  means  of  grace, 
and  a  possibility  of  their  salvation;  and  this  was  as  much  due 
to  God  for  those  in  hell,  as  for  any  out  of  it.  To  this  I  answer 
distinctly,  that  it  no  where  appears  in  Scripture,  that  Christ 
stood  engaged  to  purchase  a  day,  and  means  of  grace,  and  pos- 
sibiUty  of  salvation  for  all  men;  and  if  so,  the  reason  of  his  suf- 
fering for  those  in  hell  ceaseth.  Besides,  it  is  plain  that  many 
of  the  damned  did  never  enjoy  a  day  and  means  of  grace;  for 
God  neglected  and  overlooked  them,  and  suffered  them  to 
walk  in  their  own  ways,  Acts  xvii.  30.  They  lived  without 
God  in  the  world.     The  gospel  was  hid  from  them,  and  by  all 


158  OF   PARTICULAR  REDEMPTION. 

their  natural  or  acquired  wisdom  they  knew  not  God,  1  Cor.  i. 
21.  What  price  could  Christ  have  to  pay  for  such?  was  lie  to  pay 
for  what  they  never  had?  In  short,  Christ  could  not  engage  to 
procure  a  possibility  of  salvation  for  such  as  could  not  possibly 
be  saved,  as  Cain  and  Judas,  and  such  as  committed  the  sin 
against  the  Holy  Ghost:  and  therefore  he  could  not  die  to  ren- 
der salvation  possible  to  all  men. 

The  deduction  from  the  whole  is,  that  Christ  did  not  intend, 
by  his  death,  to  reconcile  and  save  all  men,  or  to  render  the 
salvation  of  all  men  possible;  seeing  he  well  knew,  that  the  sal- 
vation of  some  men  was,  when  he  died,  impossible ;  and  that 
they  never  had  enjoyed  a  day  or  means  of  grace  or  salvation, 
nor  had  he  undertaken  to  purchase  it  for  them. 

6.  Those  for  whom  Christ  died,  are  exempted  from  con- 
demnation, and  shall  at  last  be  presented  to  God  with  exceed- 
ing joy. 

The  apostle  Paul  puts  this  question,  "  Who  is  he  that  con- 
demneth?  it  is  Christ  that  died,"  Rom.  viii.  34.  This  is  spoken 
indefinitely,  and  belongs  to  all  for  whom  Christ  died;  for  the 
apostle  puts  no  guard  or  limitation  upon  it.  Through  Christ's 
blood  "  there  is  redemption,  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  according  to 
the  riches  of  God's  grace,"  Eph.  i.  7.  But  if  multitudes,  for 
whom  Christ's  blood  was  shed,  never  enjoy  that  forgiveness, 
then  it  is  not  according  to  the  riches  of  grace,  nor  indeed  accord- 
ing to  the  strict  rules  of  justice.  If  any,  and  especially  if  the 
greater  part  of  those  for  whom  Christ  died,  are,  notwithstand- 
ing, eternally  condemned,  how  weak  must  the  apostle's  reason- 
ing be,  and  how  groundless  and  vain  his  challenge?  "  Who  is 
he  that  condemneth?  it  is  Christ  that  died,"  Rom.  viii.  34.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  Christ's  death  exempts  all  men  from  condem- 
nation, for  whom  he  died,  then  his  reasoning  is  just  and  strong, 
but  then  it  will  thence  follow  that  he  did  not  die  for  all  men; 
seeing  so  many  are  eternally  condemned. 

Christ  shall  see  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  shall  be  satisfied,  and 
shall  hereafter  present  the  redeemed  to  the  Father,  with  exceed- 
ing joy:  saying,  "Behold  I,  and  the  children  which  God  hath 
given  me,"  Heb.  ii.  13.  Now,  if  Christ  gave  himself  for  all, 
and  only  a  remnant  are  saved,  what  satisfaction,  what  joy,  can 
he  have,  in  presenting  them  to  his  Father?  Instead  of  saying, 
"  Here  am  I,  and  the  children  whom  thou  hast  given  me,  the 
whole  world  redeemed  by  my  blood;"  may  we  not  rather  ap- 
prehend him  saying,  "  Behold,  here  is  a  handful,  a  small  part  of 
those  whom  I  died  to  redeem;  the  rest  are  lost,  though  it  was, 
0  Father,  thy  will  and  my  intention  to  save  them  all,  yet  their 
will  prevailed  against  thine  and  mine,  and  my  blood  was  shed  for 
the  greater  number  in  vain."  Could  this  be  agreeable  to  Christ? 
would  this  be  his  "  seeing  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  being 
satisfied?"  what  joy  could  attend  the  presenting  a  small  part  of 


OF   PAUTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  159 

the  redeemed  to  the  Father?  But  if  all  for  whom  Christ  died 
safely  arrive  in  glory,  then  Christ  may  be  abundantly  satisfied, 
and  joy  may  run  through  the  whole  celestial  court.  It  will  be 
a  joy  to  the  Father  who  chose  them,  to  the  Son  who  redeemed 
them,  to  the  Holy  Spirit  who  fitted  them  for  heaven,  to  the  holy 
angels  who  ministered  to  them,  and  to  the  saved  themselves, 
that  they  are  all  there ;  not  one  lost  or  missing :  and  this  ac- 
cording to  the  Scriptures,  will  be  the  real  event  and  true  state 
of  the  case. 

The  plain  deduction  or  inference  from  these  premises,  is  this; 
that  Christ  did  not  intend,  by  his  death,  to  redeem  all  men;  for 
then  he  could  not  with  so  much  joy  present  to  the  Father  only 
a  part  of  them,  as  the  travail  of  his  soul,  or  purchase  of  his 
blood. 

The  rest  of  the  propositions  to  be  laid  down  and  confirmed, 
I  must  refer  to  my  next  discourse;  and  I  shall  now  conclude 
with  this  one  short  reflection  upon  the  whole:  that  the  doctrine 
which  tends  most  to  debase  man  and  exalt  Christ,  to  take  away 
boasting  from  us,  and  to  set  forth  the  glory  of  God,  that  is  the 
true  doctrine  of  Christ's  redemption  :  for  to  this  end  is  he  made 
redemption  to  us,  "  That  he  that  glories,  may  glory  in  the 
Lord,"  1  Cor.  i.  31. 


SERMON  II. 

TiTDS  ii.  14. — Jesus  Christ  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all 
iniquity,  and  purify  to  himself  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works. 

The  gospel  doctrine  of  our  redemption  by  Christ,  tends  much 
to  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  happiness  of  man ;  it  is  the  admira- 
tion of  angels,  and  the  envy  of  devils.  Satan,  provoked  to  the 
last  degree,  to  see  man  delivered  out  of  his  kingdom  of  darkness 
and  misery,  has  left  no  means  unattempted,  to  render  that  re- 
demption ineffectual,  as  to  the  application  of  it,  the  purchase  of 
which  he  could  not  prevent :  for  this  end  he  has  raised  up  some 
to  deny  the  deity  of  the  Redeemer,  and  to  place  him  in  the  rank 
of  mere  creatures,  that  so  they  might  make  void  his  merit  and 
satisfaction;  and  so,  at  one  blow,  destroy  all  real  redemption  by 
Christ,  pluck  the  crown  from  his  head,  and  lay  our  hopes  of 
happiness  expiring  with  the  merit  and  honour  of  the  Saviour. 
Others,  who  do  not  deny  Christ's  merit  and  satisfaction,  pre- 
clude themselves  from  the  benefit  thereof,  by  setting  up  a  de- 
praved and  false  medium  of  application  instead  of  the  true  one; 
and  here  Satan  has  put  men  upon  running  into  two  dangerous 
extremes ;  some  place  faith  in  a  persuasion  of  the  love  of  Christ, 


160  OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

and  of  their  interest  in  redemption  by  him:  others  rest  in  that 
faith,  wliich  only  receives  Christ  as  the  true  Messiah,  or  the  Sa- 
viour that  was  to  come  into  the  world:  and  thus  the  devils  be- 
lieve, and  yet  tremble  at  the  thoughts  of  their  future  doom. 
There  is  a  third  sort,  with  whom  is  my  present  concern,  who,  in 
extending  Christ's  redemption  to  all  men,  represent  it  as  preca- 
rious and  uncertain  to  all,  and  certainly  ineffectual  to  the  greater 
part  of  mankind,  seeing  such  multitudes  fall  short  of  personal 
redemption  and  salvation.  I  might  mention  a  fourth  sort,  who 
^>from  the  doctrine  of  universal  redemption,  draw  a  confident, 
though  groundless  conclusion,  that  they  shall  be  saved  what- 
ever their  faith  or  practice  be,  forgetting  or  denying  my  text, 
which  asserts,  that  "  Christ  gave  himself  to  redeem  from  all  ini- 
quity, and  purify  to  himself  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good 
works;"  and  that  therefore  such  as  allow  themselves  in  evil 
works,  indulge  iniquity,  and  are  not  purified,  have  no  claim  to 
redemption  by  Christ.  By  what  has  been  said  it  appears,  how 
Satan  has  been  endeavouring  to  subvert  our  redemption,  by  his 
attempts  upon  the  author  of  it,  Christ ;  the  instrument  of  its  ap- 
plication, faith  ;  and  by  misleading  us,  as  to  the  object  or  extent 
of  it.  It  concerns  us  therefore  to  be  sober  and  vigilant,  lest  our 
great  adversary  prevail  against  us,  in  any  of  the  forementioned 
methods,  to  be  injurious  to  the  Redeemer  and  to  our  own  souls. 
To  establish,  what  I  take  to  be,  the  true  doctrine  of  redemp- 
tion, That  Christ  gave  himself  to  redeem  and  save  a  chosen 
and  peculiar  number  only,  several  arguments  were  formerly 
offered;  it  was  proved,  that  election  and  redemption  are  of  the 
same  extent,  or  do  relate  to  the  same  individual  persons ;  and 
that  therefore,  seeing  all  are  not  chosen,  all  are  not  redeemed. 
Christ's  redemption  is  absolute  and  certain;  he  cannot  fail  nor 
miss  of  the  end  and  design  of  his  death  ;  and  therefore  the  end 
and  design  of  it  was  not  to  redeem  and  save  all  men,  seeing  all 
men  are  not  redeemed  and  saved.  Christ's  suretiship  and  suf- 
ferings are  of  the  same  extent;  the  former  being  the  ground  of 
the  latter;  but  Christ  is  not  the  surety  of  all  men;  and  therefore 
he  did  not  suffer  and  die  for  all  men.  The  oblation  and  inter- 
cession of  Christ  relate  to  the  same  persons;  seeing  that  he  does 
not  intercede  for  all  men,  he  did  not  die  for  all  men.  Nor  is  it 
to  be  supposed  that  Christ  died  to  procure  the  remission  of  their 
sins,  whose  sins  were  irremissible ;  such  as  the  sins  of  the  dam- 
ned, and  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost;  therefore  he  did  not 
die  for  all  men :  he  did  not  die  to  procure  remission  for  those  ac- 
tually in  hell  at  the  time  of  his  death,  or  for  those  on  earth  con- 
cerning whom  his  own  lips  had  declared  that  they  should  never 
be  forgiven,  neither  in  this  world,  nor  in  the  world  to  come.  I 
further  argued,  that  the  redeemed  are  exempted  from  condem- 
nation; and  shall  be  presented  to  God  with  exceeding  joy;  but 
all  men  are  not  exempted  from  condemnation ;  nor  shall  all  men 


OF   PARTICULAR  REDEMPTION.  161 

be  presented  to  God  with  exceeding  joy:  therefore  Christ  did 
not  give  himself  to  redeem  all  men,  but  a  select  and  chosen 
number  only.  These  things  were  more  largely  insisted  on  in 
my  preceding  discourse,  under  six  distinct  propositions  :  I  now 
proceed  to  a  seventh. 

7.  There  is  a  strict  and  inviolable  connexion  between  Christ s 
siifferhigs  and  his  saving  hcnefits.  All  those  for  whom  Christ 
died,  shall  be  saved  by  his  death;  every  person  shall  enjoy  eter- 
nal redemption,  for  whom  Christ  obtained  it. 

As  God  gives,  so  Christ  purchased  grace  and  glory,  for  all 
the  redeemed;  therefore,  '-if  when  we  were  enemies,  we  were 
reconciled  to  God,  by  the  death  of  his  Son ;  much  more  being 
reconciled,  we  shall  be  saved  by  his  life,"'  Rom.  v.  10.  Christ 
will  perfect  his  work ;  and  the  same  persons  who  were  recon- 
ciled by  his  death,  shall  be  brought  to  eternal  salvation  by  his 
life.  His  intercession  in  heaven  secures  the  eternal  salvation 
of  all  those  for  whom  he  gave  himself  an  atoning  sacrifice,  to 
reconcile  them  to  God.  The  purchase  and  application  of  re- 
demption are  of  the  same  extent. 

Our  opponents,  directly  contrary  to  the  cited  scripture,  teach, 
that  multitudes  of  those  who  were  reconciled  to  God  by  Christ's 
death,  yet  shall  not,  or  will  not  be  saved  by  his  life.  What  then 
becomes  of  the  apostle's  argument  for  the  certainty  of  men's 
salvation,  drawn  from  Christ's  dying  for  them,  if  many  for 
whom  he  died  may,  and  must  come  short  of  salvation?  if  when 
Christ  had  reconciled  them  by  his  death,  they  shall  not  certainly 
be  saved  by  his  life  ?  *'  If  when  we  were  enemies,  we  were 
reconciled  to  God,  by  the  death  of  his  Son,  much  more  (says 
the  apostle,  much  less,  say  our  opponents)  shall  we  be  saved 
by  his  life."  If  Christ  paid  the  price  of  redemption  when  we 
were  enemies,  and  propitiated  God,  much  more  God  being 
propitiated,  and  a  sufficient  price  of  our  redemption  being  paid, 
shall  our  eternal  salvation  be  secured  by  Christ's  life  in  heaven, 
where  he  appears,  in  the  presence  of  God  for  us,  and  pleads  the 
merits  of  his  death  for  their  salvation,  whom  he  reconciled  to 
God  thereby.  He  is  too  wise,  and  too  kind  to  those  who  were 
the  travail  of  his  soul,  to  lose  any  of  them.  Hence  he  said, 
«  Father,  I  will  (I  claim  it  as  my  due)  that  those  whom  thou 
hast  given  me  may  be  with  me  where  I  am ;  that  they  may 
behold  my  glory,"  John  xvii.  24. 

Would  any  wise  man  pay  down  a  vahiable  consideration 
for  that  which  he  had  no  assurance  he  should  enjoy,  or  rather, 
which  he  knew  beforehand  he  should  never  enjoy  ?  But  so  it 
seems  Ciinsr,  me  wisdom  of  the  Father,  must  be  supposed  to 
do,  rather  than  infringe  upon  free  will,  and  man's  sovereign 
power  in  his  own  salvation.  However,  according  to  the  Scrip- 
tures, Christ  did  not  die  in  vain ;  there  is  a  certain  connexion 
between  reconciliation  and  salvation;   Christ's  cliastisement, 

21 


1d2  of  particular  redemption. 

and  their  peace  for  whom  he  suffered;  his  stripes,  and  their 
heaUng  for  whom  he  was  wounded,  are  inseparably  joined  to- 
gether, "  The  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  him,  and 
by  his  stripes  we  are  healed,"  Isa.  liii.  5,  said  the  prophet.  But 
according  to  our  opponents,  our  peace  and  healing  do  not  cer- 
tainly follow  Christ's  chastisements  and  stripes.  Now,  whether 
God  or  man  is  to  be  believed,  let  every  one  who  is  impartial 
judge.  It  is  further  written,  "By  his  knowledge  shall  my 
righteous  servant  justify  many,  for  he  shall  bear  their  iniqui- 
ties," ver.  1 1.  Such  are  justified  by  Christ,  whose  iniquities  he 
bore ;  that  is,  suffered  and  satisfied  for  in  his  death :  to  this  agree 
those  words  of  the  apostle,  "  He  was  delivered  for  our  offences, 
and  raised  again  for  our  justification,"  Rom.  iv.  25.  What  a 
strict  connexion  is  there  all  along,  between  Christ's  sufferings, 
and  his  saving  benefits  ;  and  how  are  the  same  persons  pointed 
out,  as  enjoying  the  salutary  effects  of  Christ's  death,  for  whom 
he  suffered  it! 

The  apostle  argues,  that  "  he  who  spared  not  his  own  Son, 
but  gave  him  up  for  us  all,  shall  with  him  freely  give  us  all 
things,"  Rom.  viii.  32.  That  is,  all  such  for  whom  Christ  died, 
shall  enjoy  all  the  saving  benefits  and  fruits  of  his  death,  such 
as  effectual  calling,  justification,  and  eternal  glory,  before-men- 
tioned. God  having  given  up  his  Son  to  die  for  us,  will  with 
him  give  us  freely  the  means  of  grace,  grace  itself,  and  the 
heavenly  glory,  ver.  30.  For  that  love  to  our  persons  which 
inclined  God  to  give  his  own  Son,  the  Son  of  himself,  of  his 
own  nature,  will  also  dispose  him  to  give  all  inferior  blessings 
for  a  double  reason ;  partly  because  this  Son  was  too  great 
and  precious  a  gift  to  be  lost  or  given  for  nothing,  to  be  given 
to  such  sufferings  as  he  endured,  and  yet  lose  millions  of  souls 
redeemed  by  his  blood;  and  also  because  justice  required,  that 
when  the  Son  had  paid  the  price  of  redemption,  he  should 
enjoy  the  purchase,  or  things  purchased,  even  those  for  whom 
God  gave  him  up :  and  in  order  thereto,  God  will  give  them 
all  things  necessary  to  their  salvation.*  The  argument  from 
the  cited  scripture  lies  thus ;  If  God,  having  given  up  his  Son 
to  die  for  us,  will  with  him  freely  give  us  grace  and  glory, 
then  there  is  an  inseparable  connexion  between  Christ's  suffer- 
ings, and  his  saving  benefits:  but  God  freely,  and  without  any 
condition  gave  us  Christ,  and  with  him  all  things;  therefore 
there  is  an  inseparable  connexion  between  Christ's  sufferings, 

*  One  of  the  ancients  upon  these  words  thus  expresses  himself.  "  He  excepts 
notliing  who  is  the  author  of  all ;  art  thou  afraid  of  thy  Judge  ?  consider  who  he 
is,  namely,  Christ,  to  whom  the  Father  has  committed  all  judgment.  Can  he 
damn  thee,  who  redeemed  thee  by  his  death,  for  whom  he  offered  himself,  and 
whose  life  he  knows  to  be  the  reward  of  his  death  ?  will  he  not  say.  What  profit 
\»  tJiere  in  my  blood,  if  I  condemn  him  whom  I  have  died  to  save  ?" — Ambrose, 
lib.  1.  de  Jacob  et  vita  beata.  cap.  6. 


OP   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  163 

and  his  saving  benefits,  between  his  being  given  up  for  ns,  and 
the  giving  of  all  things  (grace  and  glory  purchased  by  Christ) 
to  all  those  for  whom  he  died. 

All  the  parts  of  the  argument  Christ  himself  has  given  us  in 
one  discourse,  leaving  it  to  us  to  put  them  together.  Christ  first 
described  the  persons  for  whom  he  died,  in  these  words:  "  I  lay 
down  my  life  for  the  sheep."  John  x.  15.  He  next  declared 
the  certain  effect  of  his  laying  down  his  life  for  them;  "they 
hear  his  voice  and  follow  him,"  verse  27.  And  then  he  draws 
the  conclusion,  "  I  give  to  them  eternal  life,  and  they  shall  never 
perish."  Those  for  whom  Christ  laid  down  his  life,  in  time 
hear  his  voice,  and  follow  him,  and  shall  enjoy  eternal  life,  as 
the  fruit  and  purchase  of  his  death  for  them.  And  thus  from 
Christ's  own  words,  the  truth  of  our  proposition  appears;  that 
there  is  an  inviolable  connexion  between  Christ's  sufferings  and 
his  saving  benefits,  and  that  all  those  for  whom  Christ  died, 
shall  certainly  be  saved. 

This  truth  may  be  confirmed  by  other  Scripture  testimonies; 
as  for  instance,  from  what  is  said  of  Christ,  that  "he  died  for 
us,  that  whether  we  wake  or  sleep  we  should  live  together  with 
him."  This  was  Christ's  intention  and  design,  that  all  those 
for  whom  he  died  should  live  with  him  in  glory:  either  then 
Christ  must  be  disappointed,  or  else  they  must  for  ever  live 
with  him  for  whom  he  died.  Christ  gave  his  "  flesh  for  the  life 
of  the  world,"  John  vi.  51,  and  he  giveth  life  to  the  same  world, 
verse  33,  The  purchase,  and  the  application  of  salvation  are 
spoken  of,  with  the  same  certainty,  and  in  the  same  extent : 
there  is  not  the  least  intimation  that  he  purchased  salvation  for 
all,  but  applies  it  only  to  some;  the  same  world  for  whom  he 
died,  to  that  world  he  gives  life ;  but  he  does  not  give  life  to  all 
men;  therefore  by  the  loorld,  Christ  did  not  mean  all  men,  but 
all  those  throughout  the  world  who  believe  on  him,  for  whom 
he  gave  his  flesh,  to  purchase  their  hfe. 

We  are  assured,  that  "  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the 
world  unto  himself,  not  imputing  their  trespasses  to  them;  for 
he  has  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew  no  sin,  that  we 
might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him,"  2  Cor.  v.  19, 
21.  Here  we  may  observe,  that  those  whom  God  reconciles 
to  himself,  are  those  to  whom  God  does  not  impute  trespasses; 
those  to  whom  God  does  not  impute  their  trespasses,  are  those 
for  whom  Christ  was  made  sin,  are  those  who  are  made  the 
righteousness  of  God  in  him:  therefore,  the  non-imputation  of 
sin,  and  the  imputation  of  righteousness,  belong  to  all  those,  and 
only  those  for  whom  Christ  was  made  sin,  and  whom  God  was 
in  him  reconciling  to  himself 

We  are  told  that  Christ,  "  by  his  own  blood,  entered  in  once 
into  the  holy  place,  having  obtained  eternal  redemption  for  us," 
Heb.  ix.  12.  14,  15;  that  his  blood  purges  our  consciences  from 


164  OF   PARTICULAR  REDEMPTION. 

dead  works;  and  that  by  means  of  his  death,  they  which  are 
called  receive  the  promise  of  an  eternal  inheritance.  If  Christ's 
death  obtained  redemption,  if  it  purges  the  conscience,  and 
secures  the  eternal  inheritance,  then  there  is  a  strict  connexion 
between  Christ's  sulferings  and  his  saving  benefits;  but  the 
former  is  true,  and  therefore  so  is  the  latter.  Christ's  death  is 
not  as  a  medicine  laid  up  in  a  box,  for  such  as  may  happen  to 
make  use  of  it ;  but  it  is  effectually  and  certainly  applied  to  all 
for  whom  it  was  prepared  :  "  By  his  stripes  we  are  healed," 
Isa.  liii.  5;  "all  that  the  Father  hath  given  me  shall  come," 
saith  Christ,  John  vi.  7.  If  he  obtained  eternal  redemption  for 
us,  then  all  those  for  whom  he  obtained  it,  do  and  shall  enjoy 
that  redemption;  otherwise  it  is  so  far  from  being  eternal  re- 
demption, that  it  is  no  redemption  at  all. 

If  it  be  said,  that  Christ  obtained  eternal  redemption  for  all, 
conditionally  but  not  absolutely;  the  question  is,  whether  Christ 
purchased  this  condition  for  them  or  not ;  if  he  did,  then  they 
must  certainly  enjoy  it ;  if  he  did  not  purchase  this  condition, 
how  did  he  obtain  eternal  redemption  for  them?  Or  how  shall 
they  come  by  this  condition;  as  for  instance,  faith,  seeing  that 
is  not  of  a  man's  self,  Eph.  ii.  8;  nor  is  this  way  of  enjoying 
this  redemption,  or  the  redemption  itself,  so  much  as  revealed, 
and  made  known  to  multitudes  of  men;  "and  how  shall  they 
believe  in  him  of  whom  they  have  not  heard  ?"  Rom.  x.  14. 
Remission  of  sins  is  so  great  a  part  of  redemption,  that  it  is  put 
for  the  whole  of  it,  when  it  is  said,  "  In  whom  we  have  redemp- 
tion, through  his  blood,  the  forgiveness  of  sins."  Eph.  i.  7.  The 
latter,  forgiveness  of  sins  through  Christ's  blood,  is  here  meant, 
by  our  being  redeemed  by  his  blood.  If  then  we  have  the 
forgiveness  of  sins  included  in,  or  flowing  from  redemption  by 
Christ's  blood,  then  all  those  who  were  redeemed  by  his  blood, 
have  also  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  consequently  either  all  are 
pardoned,  or  all  were  not  redeemed,  seeing  redemption  neces- 
sarily inckides  forgiveness,  or  there  is  an  inviolable  connexion 
between  them;  which  is  the  assertion  I  am  proving.  If  this  is 
disallowed,  how  shall  we  secure  the  honour  of  God's  wisdom, 
the  sincerity  of  his  love,  or  maintain  the  value  of  Christ's  death, 
or  God's  equity  and  righteousness?  Was  Christ's  blood  shed 
for  all  men,  and  yet  are  only  some  saved?  Could  Christ  die  at 
uncertainty,  whether  he  should  have  a  seed  or  no,  or  how  great 
or  small  it  should  be,  or  whether  the  divine  love  should  enjoy 
all,  or  half,  or  a  fourth  part  of  its  objects,  as  it  must  be,  if  it 
\depends  on  the  free  and  uncertain  will  of  man,  whether  the 
redeemed  shall  be  actually  saved  or  not  ?  "  God  sent  forth  his 
Son,  made  under  the  law,  to  redeem  them  that  were  under  the 
law,  that  we  might  receive  the  adoption  of  sons:"  this,  in  the 
purchase  of  it,  we  received  in  Christ's  death,  and  therefore  we 
are  said  to  be  sons,  Before  conversion ;  "  Because  ye  are  sons, 


OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  165 

God  has  sent  forth  the  Spirit  into  your  hearts,  crying,  Abba, 
Father,"  Gal.  iv.  4 — 6.  The  application  answers  the  purchase, 
and  actually  follows  upon  it.  Christ  redeemed  those  for  whom 
he  died  from  bondage,  and  procured  for  them  the  glorious  pri- 
vilege of  being  the  sons  of  God;  and  being  thus  made  sons,  as 
the  price  paid  for  it,  the  Father  grants  the  thing  purchased,  and 
bestows  the  Spirit  of  adoption  on  the  redeemed  people.  Now, 
do  all  enjoy  this  Spirit  of  adoption?  Can  all  men  cry,  Abba, 
Father,  or  go  to  God  with  a  filial  frame,  under  the  gracious  in- 
fluences of  the  Holy  Spirit?  If  not,  as  is  most  true,  then  Christ 
did  not  die  for  all  men,  to  redeem  them  from  the  curse,  and 
make  them  sons,  seeing  there  is  such  an  inseparable  union  be- 
tween redemption  and  adoption. 

Because  this  argument  is  so  conclusive  and  decisive,  let  us 
enter  a  little  deeper  into  it,  and  more  firmly  establish  it,  by 
showing  the  grounds  and  reasons  of  this  strict  connexion  be- 
tween Christ's  sufferings  and  his  saving  benefits. 

(1.)  Christ's  death  had  in  it  the  nature  of  a  price  of  redemp- 
tion. We  are  told,  in  Scripture,  that  "  we  are  bought  with  a 
price,"  1  Cor.  vi.  20;  and  what  that  price  was,  we  elsewhere 
read,  when  mention  is  made  of  the  church  of  God,  which  he 
"purchased  with  his  own  blood,"  Acts  xx.  28,  and  when  it  is 
declared  that  we  were  not  "  redeemed  with  corruptible  things, 
as  silver  and  gold,  but  with  the  precious  blood  of  Christ,"  1  Pet. 
i.  IS,  19.  It  is  the  blood  of  Christ,  which  in  this  business  has 
that  use,  which  silver  and  gold  has  in  the  redeeming  of  captives, 
as  one*  has  observed.  It  is  called,  in  Scripture,  a  price  of 
redemption  for  the  delivery  of  another.  Now,  if  Christ  paid  a 
price  of  redemption  for  all,  then,  according  to  the  rules  of  jus- 
tice, all  must  be  delivered,  otherwise  Christ  had  not  his  due: 
if,  then,  all  are  not  delivered,  Christ  did  not  pay  this  price  of 
redemption  for  all  men,  seeing  all  for  whom  he  paid  the  price 
do  and  must  enjoy  the  thing  purchased.  He  who  is  righteous 
in  all  his  ways,  cannot  be  unrighteous  to  his  own  Son,  in  with- 
holding what  he  had  bought  with  his  precious  blood. 

(2.)  That  love  which  caused  God  to  give  his  Son,  and  which 
caused  Christ  to  give  himself  to  redeem  simiers,  cannot  lose  or 
be  deprived  of  vast  numbers  of  persons,  on  whom  it  had  fixed, 
and  for  whom  it  gave  a  ransom,  and  therefore  all  the  redeemed 
must  be  saved ;  and  if  all  were  redeemed,  then  all  must  be 
saved,  for  God  will  not  lose  the  objects  of  his  love. 

But  it  may  be  objected,  the  consequence  drawn  from  the 
divine  love  doth  not  follow,  seeing  God  and  Christ  loved  all 
men,  and  intended  their  salvation  only  conditionally,  provided 
they  would  believe,  but  left  that  to  them.selves,  as  being  in  their 
own  power.  I  answer:  then  God  and  Christ  left  it  in  the  power 
*  Dr.  Owen  against  Biddle,  p.  464. 


166  OF    PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

of  their  enemies,  whether  they  should  have  any  objects  of  their 
love  or  not ;  for  as  many  never  do  or  will  believe,  so  the  rest 
might  not  have  done  it,  and  then  both  Father  and  Son  had 
loved  in  vain,  and  Christ  had  died  in  vain;  and,  according  to 
the  objectors,  God  is  brought  down  to  a  mean  dependence  upon 
his  creatures,  unworthy  of  his  sovereign  power  and  grace;  and 
God's  satisfaction  and  honour  are  put  into  the  power  or  sub- 
jected to  the  pleasure  of  foolish  and  disobedient  men,  Titus  iii. 
3,  But  if  God  had  such  a  love  to  all  men,  why  did  he  not  keep 
their  salvation  in  his  own  hands,  and  secure  it  to  them  all? 
Could  not  the  same  love  which  gave  Christ  for  all,  have  secured 
the  happiness  of  all  men,  if  indeed  it  did  give  him  for  all,  and 
would  act  like  itself,  or  according  to  this  large  extent  of  its 
objects?  But,  moreover,  where  does  the  Scripture  represent 
the  love  of  God  as  conditional?  Is  it  not  said  to  be  free,  and 
from  everlasting,  and  the  spring  of  all  the  good  that  is  wrought 
in  or  done  to  men?  They  are  "  saved  and  called,  not  according 
to  their  own  works,  as  previous  conditions,  but  according  to 
God's  purpose  and  grace  given  them  in  Christ  Jesus,  before  the 
world  began,"  2  Tim.  i.  9,  Avhich  is  very  contrary  to  that  con- 
ditional love,  mentioned  in  the  objection. 

(3.)  The  Father^s  love  to  Christ  renders  it  necessary  that  all 
such  should  enjoy  salvation,  for  whom  Christ,  by  his  death, 
procured  it.  Would  not  a  kind  father,  among  men,  certainly 
give  to  his  child  what  he  had  lawfully  and  fully  purchased  ? 
and  shall  not  the  great  God  give  to  his  Son  all  the  travail  of  his 
soul,  all  the  purchase  of  his  blood  ?  Did  Christ  so  love  multi- 
tudes as  to  satisfy  the  justice  of  God  for  their  sins,  and  obtain 
eternal  glory  for  them?  and  shall  his  Father,  who  loves  his 
Son,  and  gives  all  things  into  his  hands,  John  iii.  35,  permit  his 
loss  of  a  great  part  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  the  purchase 
of  his  blood,  as  it  actually  comes  to  pass,  if  Christ  loved  and 
died  for  all  men,  and  yet  so  great  a  number  of  them  perish? 
How  can  this  be  consistent  with  the  Father's  love  to  Christ,  any 
more  than  it  is  with  Christ's  love  towards  those  for  whom  he 
died?  Such  a  failure  and  loss  seems  to  argue  a  great  defect 
in  the  love  of  God  to  his  Son,  as  well  as  a  want  of  it  to  men; 
and  carries  in  it  an  appearance  of  feebleness,  dependence,  and 
changeableness,  no  ways  becoming  the  perfections  of  the  great 
God,  particularly  his  sovereignty,  power,  and  infinite  love,  so 
much  celebrated  in  Scripture,  and  admired  by  the  saints  in  all 
ages. 

Upon  the  aforesaid  grounds,  with  others  that  might  have 
been  mentioned,  it  appears  that  there  is  a  strict  connexion 
between  Christ's  sufferings  and  his  saving  benefits;  or  that  it 
is  reasonable  to  believe  that  all  those  who  were  reconciled  to 
Godj  by  the  death  of  his  Son,  shall  certainly  be  saved  by  his 


OF    PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  IG7 

life.  And  from  this  proposition,  thus  estabUshed,  the  inference 
is  very  plain  and  strong,  that  Christ  did  not  sufter  and  die  to  re- 
deem all  men,  but  a  peculiar  number  only,  who  shall  certainly 
be  saved. 

S.  Christ  died  only  for  them  for  whom  he  purchased  all  the 
■means  necessary  to  their  enjoyment  of  salvation;  particularly 
faith  and  repentance,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Author  of  each 
of  them. 

Some  may  wonder  to  hear  of  the  purchase  of  the  Spirit,  who 
is  a  free  Spirit,  and  works  all  things  according  to  his  own  will; 
and  it  may  be  thought  that  he  is  not  therefore  to  be  bought  any 
more  than  Christ  was.  But  whatever  some  may  think,  the 
mission,  and  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  are,  in  Scripture,  spoken 
of  as  the  fruit  and  effects  of  Christ's  death;  as  when  he  said, 
"  Nevertheless,  I  tell  you  the  truth,  if  I  go  not  away,  the  Com- 
forter will  not  come;  but  if  I  depart,  I  will  send  him  to  you; 
and,  when  he  is  come  he  will  reprove  the  world  of  sin,  of 
righteousness,  and  judgment,"  John  xvi.  7,  8.  By  ^oz/jo-  aioay, 
and  departing,  Christ  meant  his  death,  with  what  followed  it: 
this  death  was  necessary  to  the  coming  of  the  Spirit,  to  con- 
vince and  convert  sinners,  and  to  comfort  believers.  The  case 
stood  thus:  all  men  by  nature  were  under  the  law,  and  under 
the  curse,  in  a  state  of  sin  and  misery,  by  reason  of  sin :  the  first 
covenant  had  in  it  no  promise,  either  of  repentance  or  pardon, 
or  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  work  the  one,  or  apply  the  other,  being 
made  with  a  perfect  man,  who  needed  none  of  them;  and  fallen 
man  could  not  receive  these  fruits  of  divine  love,  but  by  virtue 
of  the  new  covenant,  which  was  to  be  confirmed  by  the  blood 
of  Christ,  which  blood  also  purchased  all  the  saving  blessings 
of  it,  satisfied  justice,  removed  the  curse,  and  procured  eternal 
life  for  the  redeemed,  and  all  that  was  previously  necessary  to 
the  enjoyment  of  it.  The  church  was  purchased  by  the  blood 
of  Christ,  and  is  made  a  church  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  Acts  xx.  28, 
who,  according  to  the  order  and  method  of  salvation,  is  engaged 
to  renew  and  fit  for  heaven  all,  and  only  those,  whom  Christ, 
by  his  blood,  redeemed  from  misery,  and  entitled  to  glory. 
Accordingly  we  read  that  Christ  redeemed  them  that  were 
under  the  law,  by  being  made  under  the  law  for  them,  or  by 
enduring  its  curse  and  penalty,  in  his  death:  which  also  pro- 
cured the  adoption  of  children  for  us,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
work  a  filial  disposition  in  us.  God  sent  his  Son  to  redeem  us ; 
and,  by  virtue  of  that  redemption,  his  Spirit,  to  renew  us.  Gal. 
iv.  6.  We  receive  the  promise  of  the  Spirit  through  faith,  chap, 
iii.  14.  The  ministration  of  the  Spirit  belonged  not  to  the  law, 
but  to  the  gospel,  which  is  called  faith.  Christ,  by  his  accursed 
death,  redeemed  his  people  from  the  curse,  and  procured  the 
promised  Spirit,  the  attendant  of  the  gospel  dispensation,  verse 


168  OF    PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

13.  On  this  account  the  apostle  asks,  "Received  ye  the  Spirit 
by  the  works  of  the  law,  or  by  the  hearing  of  faith?"  Gal.  iii.  2. 
It  is  by  virtue  of  the  gospel  covenant,  ratified  by  the  blood  of 
Christ,  that  the  promise  of  the  Spirit,  or  the  promised  Spirit,  is 
received.  "  If,"  as  one  observes,  "  the  blood  of  Christ  had  not 
been  shed  on  the  cross,  the  Spirit  had  not  been  poured  out  from 
heaven;  the  effusion  of  the  one  was  the  cause  of  the  effusion  of 
the  other."  And  as  we  obtain  the  Spirit,  so  we  obtain  faith 
through  Christ,  for  his  sake,  or  on  account  of  his  purchase  of  it. 
Faith  is  obtained  through  the  righteousness  of  God  our  Saviour, 
1  Pet.  i.  1 :  it  is  on  the  behalf,  or  for  the  sake  of  Christ,  that  it 
is  given  to  men  to  believe,  Phil.  i.  29.  This  gift  was  procured 
by  the  blood  of  Christ,  who  therefore  is  called  the  "  author  and 
finisher  of  our  faith,"  Heb.  xiii.  2.  If  Christ  is  the  author  of 
our  faith,  he  must  be  the  purchaser  of  it;  for  he  gives  nothing 
to  us  but  what,  by  his  merits,  he  purchased  for  us.  Christ,  by 
his  death,  having  procured  all  spiritual  blessings  for  his  people, 
and  repentance  among  the  rest,  is  exalted  to  give  it;  he  is  a 
"  Saviour  to  give  repentance  and  remission  of  sins,"  Acts  v.  31. 
These  both  flow  from  him  as  a  Saviour,  and  therefore  as  a 
sufferer,  as  one  that  purchased  them  by  his  precious  blood ;  and 
we  are  sanctified  through  the  offering  of  the  body  of  Jesus, 
Heb.  X.  11. 

It  is  on  all  hands  agreed,  that  without  faith  and  repentance 
men  cannot  be  saved:  but  whence  do  these  flow,  and  how  do 
they  come  by  them?  Either  men  have  a  natural  power  to  re- 
pent and  believe,  or  else  faith  and  repentance  are,  as  the  scrip- 
tures speak,  the  purchase  and  the  gifts  of  Christ ;  if  they  are  the 
purchase  and  gifts  of  Christ,  then  Christ,  by  his  death,  did  not 
purchase  salvation  conditionally,  if  men  of  themselves,  or  by 
their  own  power,  would  repent  and  believe.  He  purchased 
salvation  absolutely  and  perfectly,  and  all  the  necessary  means 
of  it,  so  that  men  shall  repent  and  shall  believe:  and  if  this  is 
true,  then  the  conditional  salvation,  which  some  assert,  is  a  mere 
fallacy,  and  the  redemption  of  all  men  by  the  death  of  Christ  is 
not  true,  seeing  all  men  do  not  receive  from  Christ  the  gifts  of 
faith  and  repentance,  as  they  should  do,  if  he  had  purchased 
them  for  all  men. 

Our  opponents,*  indeed,  deny  that  Christ,  by  his  death,  pro- 
cured faith  and  repentance ;  in  maintenance  of  which  opinion 
they  allege  the  following  reasons. 

(1.)  They  urge,  that  Christ  wanted  neither  power  nor  Avill 
to  work  them  in  the  hearts  of  men;  to  which  I  answer,  that  it 
might  as  well  have  been  said,  that  Christ  did  not  obtain  eternal 
redemption  for  us,  seeing  he  wanted  neither  power  nor  will  to 

•Dr.  Whitby  on  the  Five  Points. 


OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  169 

redeem  ns.  The  power  and  will  of  Christ,  in  this  matter,  are 
to  be  considered  as  acting  according  to  the  economy,*  and  the 
method  of  salvation  agreed  upon  between  the  divine  Persons. 
Christ  says,  that  he  could  do  nothing  of  himself,  chap.  v.  30; 
that  is,  beside,  or  beyond,  or  contrary  to  the  will  of  the  Father: 
now  it  evidently  was  the  will  of  the  Father,  that  in  "  bringing 
many  sons  to  glory,  the  Captain  of  our  salvation  should  be  made 
perfect  through  sufferings,"  and  that  by  the  effusion  of  his 
blood,  he  should  obtain  for  us  eternal  redemption,  and  therefore, 
all  things  included  in  it. 

(2.)  It  is  alleged,  that  to  make  Christ  procure  both  the  pro- 
mise and  condition,  by  the  same  act  and  passion,  is  to  turn  the 
conditional  covenant  into  one  that  is  absolute;  I  answer,  if  that 
turn  makes  it  conformable  to  God's  covenant,  it  is  so  much  the 
better.  God  says,  "  This  is  the  covenant  that  I  will  make  ;  I 
will  put  my  laws  into  their  mind,  and  write  them  in  their  hearts; 
and  I  will  be  to  them  a  God,  and  they  shall  be  to  me  a  people: 
all  shall  know  me,  from  the  least  to  the  greatest;  for  I  will  be 
merciful  to  their  unrighteousness,  and  their  sins  and  their  ini- 
quities will  I  remember  no  more,"  Heb.  viii.  10,  12.  Let  our 
opponents  tell  us,  where  we  shall,  in  this  account,  find  the  con- 
dition of  the  covenant,  on  man's  part.  Supposing  some  things 
are  required,  in  order  to  the  enjoyment  of  other  things,  where 
is  the  absurdity  for  Christ  to  render  the  promised  blessing  cer- 
tain, and  to  secure  what  is  called  the  condition  of  enjoying  it  ? 
"  Without  holiness  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord,"  Heb.  xii.  14; 
«  and  blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God," 
Mat.  V.  8.  Did  Christ  then  change  the  nature  of  the  covenant, 
by  giving  himself  to  redeem  his  people  from  all  iniquity,  and  to 
purify  them  unto  himself? 

(3.)  It  is  said,  that  Christ's  sacrifice  was  not  intended  to 
procure  any  other  benefit,  but  the  removal  of  guilt.  I  wonder 
then  how  Paul  could  say,  that  by  means  of  Christ's  death,  they 
who  are  called  receive  the  promise  of  eternal  inheritance,  Heb. 
ix.  15:  is  that  no  more  than  the  removal  of  guilt?  How  did 
Christ's  blood  purchase  the  church?  did  it  only  pay  their  old 
debt,  and  turn  them  loose  to  get  to  heaven,  as  well  as  they  could 
of  themselves? 

(4.)  It  is  said,  that  Christ's  purchase  of  faith  and  repentance 
is  repugnant  to  the  nature  of  these  graces.  It  might  as  well 
have  been  said,  that  Christ's  purchase  of  forgiveness  is  repug- 
nant to  the  nature  of  forgiveness.  If  Christ  has  purchased  the 
forementioned  graces,  then  God  is  obliged  to  confer  them,  says 
the  objector:  and  where  is  the  harm  of  that?  Has  not  God 
obliged  himself  to  give  Christ  a  seed,  and  that  "  he  shall  see 

*  "  Thou  hast  given  him  power  over  all  flesh,  that  he  should  give  eternal  life  to 
as  many  as  thou  hast  given  him,"  John  xvii,  2. 

22 


170  OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  shall  be  satisfied;  and  that  he  will 
divide  him  a  portion  with  the  great,  and  that  he  shall  divide 
the  spoil  with  the  strong?"  Isa.  liii.  II,  12. 

How  weak  are  these  objections  against  our  position,  that 
Christ  purchased  grace,  as  well  as  eternal  life,  by  his  death ! 
Wherein  is  it  contrary  to  the  nature  of  faith  or  repentance,  that 
Christ  should  purchase  them,  seeing  faith  is  not  of  a  man^s 
self  Eph.  ii,  S,  and  repentance  is  the  gift  of  Christ?  Why 
may  he  not  purchase  them,  as  well  as  give  them?  Is  there  any 
thing  in  them  too  great  or  too  small  for  Christ  to  purchase  ?  But 
so  dark  and  senseless  an  objection,  as  the  last  above-mentioned 
deserves  no  further  notice,  nor  indeed  that  regard  which  has 
been  had  to  it. 

The  objections  of  our  opponents  being  thus  fairly  answered, 
our  proposition  stands  firm  and  true,  that  Christ  purchased  all 
the  necessary  means  of  salvation,  for  all  those  for  whom  he  died; 
from  whence  this  conclusion  may  be  drawn,  that  Christ  did  not 
die  for  all  men,  seeing  that  he  did  not  purchase  the  necessary 
means  of  salvation  for  all  men. 

9.  The  attainment  of  the  e7id  and  design  of  Christ's  redemp- 
tion, is  highly  pleasing  both  to  Christ  and  to  his  Father. 

The  prophet  Isaiah  represents  God  saying,  "  Behold  my  elect 
in  whom  my  soul  delights,"  Isa.  xlii.  I ;  and,  by  a  voice  from 
heaven,  when  Christ  was  entered  upon  his  work,  he  said, 
"  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased,"  Mat. 
hi.  17,  and  when  Christ  actually  offered  up  himself  a  sacrifice 
to  God,  it  is  said  to  be  of  a  "  sweet  smelling  savour,"  Eph.  v. 
2.  God  was  so  well  pleased  with  Christ's  performance,  that 
"he  raised  him  from  the  dead,"  Heb.  xhi.  20;  received  his 
human  nature  into  heaven,  1  Tim.  iii.  16;  "crowned  it  with 
glory  and  honour,"  Heb.  ii.  2 ;  "  and  placed  him  at  his  own 
right  hand,"  chap.  xii.  2,  "and  gave  him  a  name  that  is  above 
every  name,"  Phil.  ii.  9;  "appointed  him  a  kingdom,"  Luke 
xxii.  29,  "and  made  him  Lord  and  Judge  of  all,"  Acts  ii.  36; 
"  sent  the  Spirit  to  glorify  him  in  the  world,"  Acts  x.  42 ; 
"required  all  the  angels  of  God  to  worship  him,"  John  xvi. 
14,  "  and  all  men  to  honour  the  Son  even  as  himself,"  chap. 
V.  23.  All  which  things  show  how  satisfactory  and  pleasing 
Christ's  work  of  redemption  was  to  God  the  Father.  But  this 
satisfaction  could  not  arise  from  Christ's  sufferings  absolutely 
considered ;  for  he  who  does  not  willingly  grieve  the  children 
of  men.  Lam.  iii.  33,  could  not  take  pleasure  in  the  sufferings 
of  his  own  Son,  purely  on  the  account  of  the  sufferings  them- 
selves; but  it  was  with  a  view  to  the  end,  and  the  fruit  of  them, 
that  they  were  so  pleasing  to  him.  And  this  naturally  leads 
us  to  inquire  what  was  the  end  and  design  of  Christ's  giving 
himself,  in  which  God  took  such  satisfaction.  What  could  it  be 
less  than  doing  the  Father's  will,  and  finishing  his  work,  his 


OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  171 

redeeming  and  saving  all  given  him  by  the  Father,  and  losing 
none  of  them;  in  a  word,  his  glorifying  the  Father,  and  his 
"bringing  many  sons  to  glory?"  John  vi.  39.  Christ  also  is 
represented  as  "set  np  from  everlasting,  having  his  delights 
with  the  sons  of  men,"  Pro  v.  viii.  31 ;  "  we  perceive  the  love  of 
God,  in  that  he  laid  down  his  life  for  us,"  1  John  iii.  16;  "he 
delighted  to  do  this  will  of  God,"  Psal,  xl.  S,  and  rejoiced  in 
the  prospect  of  having  a  body  prepared  for  liim,  in  which  he 
should  suffer  and  satisfy  for  the  sins  of  men,  and  by  dying 
redeem  them  from  eternal  death.  This  was  the  travail  of  his 
soul,  which  he  was  to  see,  and  with  which  he  was  satisfied, 
Isa.  liii.  11.  This  was  the  "joy  set  before  him,"  for  which  he 
"  endured  the  cross,"  Heb.  xii.  2:  the  glory  he  should  bring 
to  God,  and  the  happiness  which  he  should  procure  and  secure 
to  men. 

Now,  if  Christ  redeemed  men  so  imperfectly,  and  so  uncer- 
tainly, as  that  though  he  died  for  all  men,  yet  all  men  might  have 
died  eternally  notwithstanding,  and  the  most  of  them  actually 
do  so,  what  becomes  of  the  Father's  glory  and  man's  happi- 
ness, of  God's  love  to  sinners,  and  Christ's  strong  affection  to 
them?  How  could  the  Father  be  pleased  in  such  a  loose  and 
uncertain  purchase,  and  in  so  small  a  part  of  mankind,  when  he 
gave  his  Son  to  redeem  all  men  ?  Could  it  be  pleasing  to  him, 
that  when  he  designed  the  redemption  of  all  men,  such  a  mul- 
titude should  be  lost,  and  the  salvation  of  those  who  obtain  it 
should  be  left  so  precarious,  depending  more  on  the  will  of  man, 
than  upon  the  love  and  care  of  the  Father,  or  the  redemption 
of  the  Son  ?  With  what  pleasure  could  the  all-wise  God  look 
upon  such  a  kind  of  redemption  as  this?  Or  what  satisfaction 
could  Christ  take  in  seeing  the  end  and  design  of  his  death  so 
greatly  disappointed,  if  he  really  intended  to  save  all  men  by 
his  death,  and  only  a  remnant  are  saved?  Or  how  could  he  be 
satisfied,  not  certainly  to  intend  the  salvation  of  any  of  those, 
whom  he  and  his  Father  so  dearly  loved,  and  for  whom  he 
suffered  such  a  bitter  death?  Could  Christ  be  so  profuse  of  his 
blood,  and  was  his  conflict  with  God's  wrath  and  vengeance 
such  a  light  matter,  as  that  he  could,  with  satisfaction,  throw 
away  the  one,  and  endure  the  other,  without  securing  the  sal- 
vation of  so  much  as  one  soul,  instead  of  redeeming  all  men? 

Upon  the  whole;  seeing  both  Father  and  Son  are  so  well 
pleased  in  Christ's  work  of  redemption,  and  the  fruit  and  end 
of  it,  we  may  conclude  that  Christ  did  not  die  to  redeem  all  men 
conditionally  and  uncertainly,  but  that  he  died  for  a  peculiar 
number,  who  shall  certainly  be  presented  to  God,  with  exceed- 
ing glory  and  joy,  Jude,  verse  24,  both  on  the  part  of  God  and 
Christ,  and  the  redeemed  peculiar  people. 

10.  The  redeemed  are  represented  in  Scripture,  under  dis- 
tinct discriminating  characters,  or  as  a  select  peculiar  peopie. 


172  OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

Thus  they  are  spoken  of  in  my  text,  and  a  multitude  of  other 
places;  where  they  are  called  Christ's  people,  Mat.  i.  21,  his 
body,  Eph.  v.  23,  his  sheep,  John  x.  16,  the  church,  Eph.  v.  25, 
the  children  of  God,  John  xi.  16.  Christ,  when  he  said  that  he 
laid  down  his  life  for  his  sheep,  included  in  that  expression  the 
elect  Gentiles,  those  other  sheep,  chap.  x.  16,  which  he  says  he 
must  bring,  implying,  that  all  the  chosen  shall,  by  him,  be 
brought  to  God.  And  he  told  some  of  the  Jews,  that  they  did 
not  believe,  because  they  were  not  of  his  sheep,  verse  23,  im- 
plying that  all  his  sheep,  for  whom  he  laid  down  his  life,  are 
brought  to  believe  in  him.  How  could  Christ  be  said  to  be  the 
Redeemer  of  his  people,  of  his  body,  of  the  church,  in  distinc- 
tion from  others,  if  he  is  the  Redeemer  of  the  whole  world,  of 
all  men?  The  church  cannot  mean  the  world,  his  people  can- 
not mean  all  people ;  those  redeemed  from  among  men,  Rev, 
xiv.  4,  cannot  mean  all  men,  those  from  among  whom  they 
were  redeemed;  nor  can  those  redeemed  out  of  every  people  and 
nation,  chap.  v.  9,  signify  all  people,  and  all  nations,  or  all  men. 

Upon  this  head,  our  opponents  observe,  that  though  Christ  is 
said  to  die  for  his  sheep,  his  people,  and  the  like,  yet  it  is  not 
said  that  he  died  for  them  only,  and  none  besides;  but  it  is  said 
that  he  died  for  the  world,  the  lahole  world,  or  all  men.  To 
which  I  reply,  that  though  the  restrictive  term,  only,  is  not 
exptressed,  yet  it  is  necessarily  implied,  and  understood,  in  the 
Scriptures,  where  Christ  is  said  to  die  for  his  sheep,  and  for 
his  people;  for  if  all  men  were  intended  by  these  expressions, 
what  need  is  there  of  any  terms  of  peculiarity?  If  all  men  are 
redeemed,  then  there  is  not  a  select  number  redeemed;  forte 
redeem  a  select  number  out  of  all  men,  and  to  redeem  all  men, 
are  contradictory  one  to  the  other;  so  that  the  exclusive  word, 
only,  is  implied  in  those  scriptures,  where  Christ  is  said  to  die 
for  his  sheep,  and  his  people.  It  is  said,  "  there  is  one  God, 
and  one  Mediator,"  but  the  word  only  is  not  added;  shall  we 
then  say,  that  there  are  more  gods  than  one,  and  more  me- 
diators than  one,  between  God  and  man?  When  a  legacy  is 
bequeathed  to  one  man,  is  it  given  to  others,  because  the  word 
only  is  not  added?  If  when  it  is  said,  that  Christ  loved  his 
church,  and  gave  himself  for  it,  Eph.  v.  25,  all  men  are  included, 
because  the  word  only  is  not  added,  then  when  men  are  com- 
manded to  love  their  wives,  as  Christ  loved  the  church,  they  are 
allowed  to  extend  their  conjugal  affection  to  all  women,  besides 
their  wives,  because  it  is  not  said.  Love  your  ivives  only.  This 
may  suffice  to  remove  the  objection,  and  establish  the  proposi- 
tion, that  the  redeemed  are  represented  under  discriminating 
restrictive  terms;  and  from  hence  the  deduction  is  plain,  that 
the  redeemed  are  a  peculiar  people,  and  not  all  men. 

11.  The  necessary  means  of  salvation  are  aflbrded  to  all 
those  for  whom  Christ  died,  to  render  their  salvation  possible. 


OF   PARTICrLAR  REDEMPTION.  173 

To  deny  this  proposition,  is  to  affirm  that  Christ  died  to  render 
that  possible,  wliich,  in  the  nature  of  the  thing,  is  impossible. 
It  is  eternal  life  "  to  know  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ," 
John  xvii.  1.  On  the  other  hand,  not  to  know  them  is  eternal 
death.  If  Christ,  by  his  death,  rendered  the  salvation  of  all 
men  possible,  on  the  conditions  of  faith  and  repentance,  it  is  but 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  they  all  shall  enjoy  the  necessary 
means  of  that  faith  and  repentance,  otherwise  Christ  purchased 
a  possibility  of  salvation,  on  an  impossible  condition,  or  without 
the  necessary  conditions  of  that  possibility,  or  the  necessary 
means  of  attaining  those  necessary  conditions. 

The  dispute,  at  present,  is  not  whether  any  man  can  be  saved 
by  Christ,  without  faith  in  him,  but  whether  any  man  can 
believe  in  Christ,  who  never  knows  Christ,  nor  has  heard  of 
him;  "  How  shall  they  believe  in  him  of  whom  they  have  not 
heard?"  Rom.  x.  14,  15.  The  apostle's  argument  lies  thus: 
They  who  do  not  hear  the  word,  cannot  believe;  they  cannot 
hear  the  word,  to  whom  it  is  not  preached ;  they  cannot  preach 
it  whom  God  doth  not  send:  therefore  they  cannot  be  saved  to 
whom  God  does  not  send  the  preaching  of  the  word.  Thus  the 
apostle  proved  the  necessity  of  the  means  of  grace,  in  order  to 
faith,  and  of  faith,  in  order  to  salvation.  If  then  Christ  died 
equally  for  all  men,  why  is  he  not  equally  revealed  to  all  men? 
If  the  greatness  of  men's  sins  did  not  hinder  him  from  giving 
himself  a  ransom  for  all  men,  why  should  it  prevent  his  reveal- 
ing himself  to  all  men?  If  infinite  love  moved  Christ  to  die  for 
all  men,  why  did  not  the  same  love  engage  him  to  make  him- 
self known  to  all  men?  especially  seeing  without  this  know- 
ledge they  could  have  no  faith  in  him,  or  salvation  by  him.  Is 
it  credible  that  Christ  should  shed  his  precious  blood  to  redeem 
all  men,  and  yet  never  discover  this  gracious  design  to  them,  to 
win  their  hearts,  and  engage  them  to  believe  in  him,  and  adhere 
to  him,  to  the  saving  of  their  souls?  Did  Christ  die  to  render 
the  salvation  of  all  men  possible,  and  then  destroy  that  possi- 
bility, by  withholding  from  thousands  the  necessary  means  of 
that  faith,  without  which  they  could  not  be  sav-sd?  Would  this 
be  acting  like  the  only  wise  God  our  Savioui  ? 

But  it  may  be  said,  that  the  reason  of  God's  withholding  the 
means  of  grace  from  some,  may  be  their  obstinacy  and  un- 
worthiness ;  the  abuse  of  the  light  they  had,  and  a  foresight  that 
they  would  abuse  clearer  light,  if  they  had  it.  To  this  I  answer, 
all  men  are  naturally  obstinate  and  unworthy;  and  if  God  deals 
with  men  according  to  their  obstinacy  and  unworthiness,  not 
only  some  men,  but  even  all  men  should  be  excluded  from  the 
means  of  grace.  If  it  is  said,  there  are  degrees  of  unworthi- 
ness, and  some  are  better  disposed  than  others,  to  improve  the 
means,  which  may  be  a  reason  why  they  are  granted  to  some, 
and  withheld  from  others:  to  this  it  may  be  replied,  that  Christ 


174  OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

has  told  us,  that  Tyre  and  Sidon,  and  the  land  of  Sodom,  Mat. 
xi.  21 — 23,  would  have  made  a  better  use  of  his  preaching  than 
the  towns  of  Galilee  had  done,  yet  the  former  never  enjoyed 
this  light,  but  the  latter  did ;  which  plainly  shows,  that  the 
means  of  grace  are  not  always  granted  to  those  who  God 
foresaw  would  make  a  good  use  of  them,  nor  are  withheld  from 
such  as  it  was  foreseen  would  make  a  bad  use  of  them.  It  is 
best  therefore  to  rest  in  that  reason  of  this  procedure  assigned 
by  Christ,  God's  sovereign  will  and  pleasure:  "Thou  hast  hid 
these  things  from  the  wise  and  prudent,  and  hast  revealed  them 
to  babes;  even  so,  Father,  because  it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight," 
verse  25,  26. 

The  general  and  universal  terms  used,  concerning  "  the 
preaching  the  gospel  to  every  creature,  and  to  all  the  world," 
Mark  xvi.  15,  "'and  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,"  Rom.  x.  IS,  are 
not  to  be  understood  in  the  utmost  extent ;  for  so  it  is  evident 
they  never  were,  nor  can  be  fulfilled ;  seeing  multitudes  are 
dead,  who  never  heard  any  thing  of  Christ  or  the  gospel.  Col. 
i.  23,  or  so  much  as  any  part  of  God's  revealed  will:  "As  for 
his  judgments,  they  have  not  known  them,"  Psal.  cxlvii.  20. 
For  how  long  a  time  did  God  suffer  the  nations  to  walk  in  their 
own  ways,  and  winked  at  the  times  of  their  ignorance  ?  nay,  in 
the  days  of  gospel  light,  some  places  were  expressly  excluded 
from  the  preaching  of  the  word :  Paul  and  his  companions  be- 
ing forbid  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  attempted  to  go  into  Bithynia,  but 
the  Spirit  suffered  them  not ;  so  that  the  commission  to  "  teach 
all  nations,  and  preach  the  word  to  every  creature,"  must  be 
explained  in  a  general  sense,  and  not  according  to  the  utmost 
extent  of  the  words,  including  strictly  every  individual  person. 
Not  only  the  Jews,  but  the  other  nations  were  to  have  the  light 
shine  upon  them,  wherever  God  pleased  to  send  his  messen- 
gers; but  how  many  are  there,  at  this  day,  who  know  nothing 
of  Christ,  and  the  way  of  salvation  by  him ;  and  is  it  credible 
that  God  should  give  his  Son  to  be  a  ransom  for  all,  and  not 
give  him  to  be  a  light  to  all  men?  Did  Christ  die  to  put  all 
men  into  a  salvable  condition,  as  it  is  called ;  and  then,  as  if 
he  repented,  leave  the  greatest  part  destitute  of  the  necessary 
means  of  faith  and  salvation? 

Our  opponents  are  in  the  utmost  distress  upon  this  head,  and 
know  not  how  to  reconcile  an  universal  ransom,  with  a  re- 
strained and  partial  revelation  of  Christ  to  men.  How  is  it 
consistent  with  the  divine  wisdom  for  Christ  to  die,  to  render 
the  salvation  of  all  men  possible,  and  yet  leave  many  of  them 
destitute  of  those  means,  without  which  it  is  not  possible,  ac- 
cording to  the  Scriptures,  that  they  should  be  saved  ?  "  Where 
there  is  no  vision,  the  people  perish,"  Prov.  xxix.  18;  "they 
are  lost  to  whom  the  gospel  is  hid,"  2  Cor.  iv.  3;  "such  as  have 
not  the  Son,  have  not  hfe,"  1  John  v.  12;  "without  faith  it  is 


OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  175 

impossible  to  please  God,"  Heb  xi.  6 ;  "he  that  believeth  not 
shall  not  see  life,  but  the  wrath  of  God  abides  upon  him,"  John 
iii.  3G ;  "  and  how  shall  men  believe  in  him  of  whom  they  have 
not  heard?"  Rom.  x.  14.  So  then  v/ithout  faith,  there  is  no 
salvation;  without  hearing  of  Christ,  there  can  be  no  faith  in 
him,  or  salvation  by  him;  and  by  withholding  the  revelation 
of  Christ  from  vast  numbers,  God  renders  their  salvation  im- 
possible, which  it  is  said  Christ,  by  his  death,  had  rendered 
possible:  and  thus  the  purchase  of  the  Son  is  made  void,  by 
the  providence  of  the  Father,  according  to  the  scheme  of  our 
opponents.  But  God  forbid  it  should  be  so,  in  reality!  For 
what  kind  of  wisdom  or  prudence  could  there  be,  either  in  the 
Father^  or  the  Son,  for  Christ  to  shed  his  precious  blood,  to 
redeem  myriads,  to  whom,  after  all,  they  did  not  think  fit  to 
give  any  notice  of  it,  or  any  means  of  enjoying  the  redemption 
obtained  for  them?  Or,  how  is  it  consistent  with  the  justice  or 
goodness  of  God,  for  him  to  withhold  the  knowledge  of  the 
way  of  salvation  from  multitudes,  for  whom  Christ  purchased 
a  possibility  of  salvation?  Had  not  men  better  quit  their  notion 
of  universal  redemption,  than  be  so  injurious  to  the  wisdom, 
justice,  and  goodness  of  God,  as,  according  to  their  doctrine, 
they  must  unavoidably  be  ?  The  difficulty  is  not  removed  by 
saying,  that  those  who  never  enjoy  the  revelation  of  Christ,  are 
shut  out  from  it,  by  their  negligence  and  disobedience,  seeing 
"  Christ  is  found  of  them  who  sought  him  not,  and  is  made 
manifest  to  them  that  asked  not  after  him;  and  all  the  day  long 
stretches  out  his  hands  to  a  disobedient  and  gainsaying  people," 
Rom.  X.  20, 21.  There  must  then  be  some  other  reason  of  God's 
leaving  so  many  destitute  of  the  revelation  of  Christ ;  for  this 
no  good  reason  can  be  given,  upon  a  supposition  that  Christ 
redeemed  all  men:  but  if  it  is  allowed  that  he  redeemed  only 
a  select  number,  good  reasons  may  be  assigned  why  the  gospel 
is  sent  to  some  places,  and  not  to  others ;  and  why  it  continues 
longer  in  one  place  than  in  another,  because  Christ  has  much 
people  there,  Acts  xviii.  10;  and  in  many  places  it  never  comes, 
because  the  elect,  the  redeemed,  obtain,  but  the  rest  are  blinded, 
Rom.  X.  7. 

Upon  the  whole,  our  position  holds  true,  that  the  necessary 
means  of  salvation  are  aiforded  to  all  those  for  whom  Christ 
died,  to  render  their  salvation  possible;  and  hence  the  conclu- 
sion follows,  that  Christ  did  not  die  to  render  the  salvation  of 
all  men  possible,  seeing  all  men  have  not  the  necessary  means 
of  salvation. 

12.  The  intention  and  design  of  Christ's  redemption,  is  agree- 
able to  Scripture  and  reason,  and  stands  clear  of  all  absurdities 
and  inconsistencies. 

To  deny  this  proposition,  would  be  to  cast  the  most  injurious 
reflections  on  the  Redeemer,  and  his  work,  directly  contrary  to 


176  OF   PARTICULAR  REDEMPTION. 

God  the  Father;  who,  on  the  account  of  Christ's  becoming 
obedient  to  the  death  of  the  cross,  has  highly  exalted  him,  and 
given  him  a  name  above  every  name. 

Christ's  intention  in  giving  himself,  was,  according  to  the 
Scriptures,  "  to  redeem  men  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  to 
himself  a  peculiar  people;"  and  it  appears  to  be  reasonable, 
that  his  intention  should  be  accomplished,  and  that  he  should 
not  shed  his  precious  blood  in  vain,  or  be  disappointed  of  his 
end,  with  respect  to  the  greatest  part  of  those  for  whom  he 
died.  But  thus  it  must  be,  if  he  died  to  render  the  salvation 
of  all  men  possible,  on  condition  they  believe  in  him,  and  yet 
leaves  so  great  a  part  of  them  under  an  impossibility  of  per- 
forming that  condition,  or  enjoying  the  salvation,  by  not  re- 
vealing or  making  himself  known  to  them,  as  was  observed 
before. 

The  Scriptures  no  where  speak  of  a  conditional,  uncertain 
redemption  of  men,  depending  on  the  will  of  the  fallen  creature, 
as  to  all  its  salutary  effects.     It  is  contrary  to  reason  for  Christ 
to  leave  salvation  depending  upon  the  will  of  man,  which  had 
ruined  him  in  his  best  estate,  and  was  not  at  all  likely  to  save 
him  in  his  worst.     How  could  Christ  expect  that  the  intention 
of  his  death  should  be  accomplished  in  such  a  way?     Will  the 
fallen  creature  take  more  care  to  secure  the  good  effects  of  his 
death,  than  the  sufferer  and  Saviour  himself  did?     How  incon- 
sistent and  absurd  must  it  be  for  Christ  to  exercise  the  greatest 
love  towards,  and  inflict  the  greatest  wrath  upon  the  same  per- 
sons, at  the  same  time?     As  it  must  be,  if  he,  in  infinite  love, 
died  to  redeem  all  men;  and  yet  multitudes  in  hell  were  suffer- 
ing his  vengeance,  at  the  same  time  he  loved  them,  and  gave 
himself  for  them.     Does  it  not  sound  very  harsh  and  shocking 
to  say,  that  the  saved  are  no  more  beholden  to  the  Redeemer, 
than  the  damned?     And  yet  this  is  true  if  Christ  loved  and 
died  equally  for  all  men.     How  contrary,  both  to  Scripture  and 
reason,  is  it  to  charge  God  with  taking  a  double  satisfaction  for 
the  same  sins,  one  from  Christ,  and  another  from  the  damned 
themselves?     Which  yet  is  fact,  if  Christ  died  for  all  men,  and 
satisfied  the  justice  of  God  for  all  men.    Could  Christ,  in  infinite 
love,  die  for  all  men,  without  any  fixed  intention  and  resolution 
to  save  any  one  man?     Could  Christ  come  to  do  the  will  of 
God,  and  yet  subject  all  to  the  will  of  men,  and  leave  it  to  them 
whether  the  Father  should  have  the  pleasure,  and  Christ  the 
satisfaction,  in  redemption,  foretold  and  promised,  Isa.  liii,  10, 
11,  whether  the  Father  should  enjoy  one  object  of  his  love,  or 
Christ  the  travail  of  his  soul,  in  one  single  instance  or  not? 
And  yet  so  it  was,  according  to  their  scheme,  who  say,  that 
Christ  died  to  purchase  salvation  conditionally  for  all  men,  but 
absolutely  and  certainly  for  no  man,  leaving  to  men,  either  to 
make  it  effectual  by  believing,  or  of  no  effect  by  their  unbelief 


OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  177 

How  shall  men  be  convinced,  that  Christ  crucified  is  the  wisdom 
of  God  to  salvation,  if  not  so  much  as  one  soul  had  its  salvation 
certainly  secured,  by  Christ's  sufferings,  and  that  too  when,  as 
it  is  said,  he  died  to  save  all  men  ? 

How  contrary  this  notion  of  redemption  is  to  Christ's  inten- 
tion, to  Scripture  and  reason,  and  with  how  many  difficulties 
and  inconsistencies  it  is  attended,  may,  in  part,  appear  by  what 
goes  before,  wherein  I  have  not,  to  my  knowledge,  strained 
or  misrepresented  any  thing.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  if  God 
loved,  and  Christ  died  for  a  select  number  only,  and  effectually 
secured  to  them  grace  and  glory,  this  is  agreeable  to  Scripture 
and  reason,  advances  the  glory  of  the  divine  perfections,  and 
provides  most  for  the  comfort  and  happiness  of  man,  as  I  hope 
to  make  appear,  in  answer  to  our  opponents'  allegations  to  the 
contrary,  when  I  come  to  that  part  of  my  work. 

Upon  the  whole,  let  the  propositions  which  have  been  ad- 
vanced, explained,  and  confirmed  by  Scripture,  with  the  plain 
deductions  from  them,  be  seriously  and  impartially  considered; 
and  then  let  all  judge  whether  Christ  intended  to  redeem  all 
men,  or  some  only,  "  when  he  gave  himself  for  us,  to  redeem  us 
from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  to  himself  a  peculiar  people,  zea- 
lous of  good  works." 


SERMON  HI. 

Titus  ii.  14. — Jesus  Christ  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all 
iniquity,  and  purify  to  himself  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works. 

The  death  of  Christ  being  the  fountain  of  our  life,  there  is  no- 
thing more  necessary,  pleasant,  or  useful  to  the  Christian,  than 
a  right  apprehension  and  remembrance  of  it :  and  therefore  there 
is  no  doctrine  of  the  Christian  religion  that  has  been  more  op- 
posed and  depraved  than  this;  some  denying  that  Christ,  strictly 
speaking,  died  for  any  man,  and  others  as  confidently  affirming 
that  he  died  for  all  men,  with  an  intention  to  redeem  and  save 
all  men;  whereas  my  text  represents  him  as  dying  for  a  pecu- 
liar people.  Several  arguments,  establishing  the  truth,  have 
been  insisted  on,  in  some  former  discourses  on  this  text;  I  now 
proceed  to  the  second  thing  I  proposed. 

II.  I  shall  answer  the  principal  arguments,  and  vindicate  the 
chief  passages  of  Scripture,  produced  in  opposition  to  the  truth 
which  I  have  been  defending. 

1.  Our  opponents  endeavour  to  prove,  from  the  general  and 
universal  scripture  terms,  that  Christ  did  not  die  to  redeem  a 
select  number  only,  but  all  men.  And  here  they  produce  many 
texts,  wherein  it  is  said  that  Christ  died  for  the  world,  the 

23 


17S  OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

whole  world,  for  all  men,  and  every  man,  and  the  like:  and  it 
must  be  owned  that  these  w^ords  sound  well  on  their  side ;  and 
if  they  take  them  separately  from  the  texts,  and  contexts,  where 
they  are  used,  and  just  in  what  sense  they  please,  they  may 
serve  to  make  a  flourish  with,  and  may  be  a  sufficient  proof  of 
the  point,  to  such  as  look  only  to  the  surface,  but  not  to  the 
bottom  of  things,  who  more  regard,  the  sound,  than  the  sense  of 
the  words,  as  used  in  the  respective  places;  but  such  as  under- 
stand an  argument,  must  know,  that  no  certain  conclusion  can 
be  drawn  from  doubtful  premises;  nor  can  the  general  or  uni- 
versal terms  prove  universal  redemption,  till  it  is  first  proved 
that  these  terms  are  used  in  an  universal  sense,  in  the  texts 
alleged:  we  deny  that  they  are  so  used;  and  I  hope  to  make  it 
appear,  that  a  restriction  and  limitation  is  annexed  to  them  in 
the  texts,  or  contexts,  where  they  are  used  with  reference  to  our 
redemption  by  Christ. 

Before  we  examine  particular  passages,  let  it  be  observed, 
that  they  ought  all  to  be  taken  in  such  a  sense  as  agrees  with 
the  express  end  and  design  of  Christ's  death,  and  never  in  a 
sense  contradictory  thereto.  Now,  the  intention  and  design  of 
Christ,  in  dying  for  men,  is  plainly  expressed  in  the  following 
scriptures:  "  That  he  might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it,  (the  church,) 
that  he  might  present  it  to  himself  a  glorious  church,"  Eph. 
v.  25;  "that  he  might  purify  to  himself  a  peculiar  people," 
Titus  ii.  14;  "that  he  might  deliver  us  from  this  present  evil 
world,"  Gal.  i.  4;  "  that  we  might  receive  the  adoption  of  sons," 
chap.  iv.  4,  5;  "that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of 
God  in  him,"  2  Cor.  v.  21;  "that  he  might  bring  us  to  God," 
1  Pet.  iii.  18.  It  could  not  be  the  intention  and  design  of  Christ 
to  extend  redemption  to  such  as  are  never  purified,  nor  delivered 
from  this  evil  world,  nor  receive  the  adoption  of  sons,  nor  are 
made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him,  nor  are  ever  brought  to 
God ;  for  that  would  be  either  to  have  his  intention  disappointed, 
or  to  have  intentions  thwarting  and  contradicting  one  another: 
to  suppose  either  of  which,  would  be  highly  injurious  to  Christ. 
From  hence  it  follows,  that  the  largest  expressions  used  in 
Scripture,  with  relation  to  the  extent  of  Christ's  death,  cannot 
be  meant  of  all  and  every  man,  seeing  Christ  did  not  intend  to 
sanctify  every  man,  and  bring  every  man  to  God:  for  if  he  had, 
he  would  certainly  have  done  it;  for  he  cannot  fail  in  his  work, 
nor  be  disappointed  of  his  end. 

(1.)  A  great  noise  is  made  about  those  scriptures  which  speak 
of  Christ's  dying  for  the  ivorld,  or  the  luhole  world.  Accord- 
ingly a  late  celebrated  writer,  laying  great  stress  upon  the  words 
the  ivorld,  and  the  ivhole  world,  tells  us,  that  the  word  world 
is  used  almost  an  hundred  times  in  St.  John's  writings;  and 
that  the  sense  which  the  word  bears  therein,  must  be  esteemed, 
in  reason,  the  proper  import  of  the  word.     But  how,  if  the 


OF    PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  179 

word  is  used  in  a  great  variety  of  senses  by  St.  John  ?  How- 
shall  we  ever  know  the  proper  import  of  it,  unless  we  find 
something  in  the  text,  or  context,  to  determine  the  meaning 
of  the  word,  in  that  particular  place?  If  the  word  is  used 
almost  a  hundred  times  in  St,  John's  writings,  yet  I  can  find 
no  more  than  nine  places  in  all  his  writings,  in  which  tlie  word 
world  is  applied  to  our  redemption  or  salvation  by  Christ;  and 
of  these  nine,  there  is  not  one  text  in  which  the  word  world 
can  be  proved  to  signify  every  person  that  has  been,  now  is,  or 
hereafter  shall  be,  in  this  world;  which  is  yet  absolutely  neces- 
sary, in  order  to  prove,  by  such  a  text,  that  Christ  gave  himself 
to  redeem  all  men,  and  every  man.  If  then  it  can  be  proved, 
from  any  one  verse  in  St.  John's  writings,  or  from  any  other 
text  in  Scripture,  that  the  word  world,  or  whole  tvorld,  must 
necessarily,  when  applied  to  the  work  of  our  redemption,  signify 
every  individual  man,  let  our  opponents  enjoy  their  conclusion, 
that  Christ  died  to  redeem  every  man:  but  if  this  cannot  be 
done,  as  I  am  confident  it  cannot,  why  should  they,  from  gene- 
ral and  doubtful  terms,  draw  an  universal  and  certain  conclu- 
sion? 

I  do  not  deny  that  the  word  ivorld,  is  by  St.  John,  used  in 
its  utmost  extent,  and  includes  in  it  not  only  all  created  persons, 
but  also  all  created  things ;  as  in  that  passage,  "  The  world  was 
made  by  him,"  John  i.  10.  But  then  it  does  not  there  relate 
to  Christ's  work  of  redemption,  but  to  his  work  of  creation : 
and  so  can  be  no  proof  that  Christ  died  to  redeem  all  men. 
There  are  a  great  many  places  in  St.  John's  writings,  and  in 
the  other  parts  of  the  New  Testament,  in  which  the  word  world 
is  evidently  used  in  a  restrictive,  limited  sense.  It  is  said  of 
Christ,  that  the  world  knew  lain  not,  John  i.  10.  By  the  world 
here,  as  Chrysostom  observes,  is  meant  the  multitude  of  sinners, 
addicted  to  worldly  things:  for  the  friends  of  God,  those  vene- 
rable men,  knev/  Christ  even  before  his  incarnation;  the  patri- 
arch Abraham,  as  Christ  testifies,  foresaw  his  coming:  David, 
in  Spirit,  called  him  Lord:  Moses  spoke  of  him,  and  all  the 
prophets  from  Samuel.  I  may  add,  when  he  came  in  the  flesh, 
some  believed  in  him,  and  his  "  disciples  beheld  his  glory,"  and 
yet  "the  world  knew  him  not,"  John  i.  12,  14.  By  luorld  here 
every  individual  person  cannot  be  meant,  seeing  there  were 
many  that  did  know  Christ :  but  why  may  not  these  words, 
The  world  knew  him  not,  as  certainly  prove,  that  no  one  man 
in  the  world  knew  Christ,  as  those  words,  "  Behold  the  Lamb 
of  God,  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world,"  chap.  i.  29, 
signify,  that  Christ  died  for  all  men;  especially  considering  that 
the  sin  of  multitudes  of  men  is  never  taken  away  from  them? 
The  world  then,  from  whom  sin  is  taken,  cannot  mean  all  man- 
kind; for  by  taking  away  of  sin,  is  meant  the  taking  it  wholly 
away,  as  Chrysostom  observes  upon  the  place.     When  it  is 


180  OP    PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

proved  that  sin  is  thus  taken  from  all  men,  we  will  allow  that 
Christ  died  to  redeem  all  men. 

Christ  said,  "  I  pray  not  for  the  world,  but  for  those  whom 
thou  hast  given  me  out  of  the  world ;  they  are  not  of  the  world, 
as  I  am  not  of  the  world,"  Johnxvii.  9,  16.  If  there  is  a  world, 
which  Christ  does  not  pray  for,  and  yet  a  number  is  given  him 
out  of  the  world,  for  whom  he  prays,  then  the  word  world  can- 
not mean  all  men,  both  those  he  did  pray  for,  and  those  for 
whom  he  did  not  pray,  those  who  are  not  of  the  world,  and 
those  that  are.  If  then  we  must  judge  of  the  import  of  the 
word  world,  by  St.  John's  writings;  and  if  in  those  writings 
it  is  so  often  used  in  a  restrictive  sense,  and  never  means  all 
men,  when  applied  to  redemption,  then  no  certain,  no  apparent 
argument  can  be  drawn  from  his  use  of  the  word,  for  the  re- 
demption of  all  men,  or  which  prove  that  Christ  gave  himself 
to  redeem  and  save  all  men. 

Christ  declared,  that  he  would  give  "  his  flesh  for  the  life  of 
the  world,"  John  vi.  51,  "and  that  he  gives  life  to  the  world," 
verse  33.  Seeing  then  Christ  does  not  give  life  to  all  men,  the 
world  to  which  he  giveth  life,  does  not  mean  all  men;  therefore 
no  good  argument  can  be  drawn  from  this  text  for  universal 
redemption. 

Christ  himself  has  told  us,  "  that  God  so  loved  the  world,  that 
he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  him, 
should  not  perish, but  have  everlasting  life;  for  God  sent  not  his 
Son  into  the  world  to  condemn  the  world,  but  that  the  world, 
through  him,  might  be  saved :  he  that  believes  not  is  condemned 
already:  he  that  believes  on  the  Son,  has  everlasting  life ;  and 
he  that  believes  not  the  Son,  shall  not  see  life,  but  the  wrath  of 
God  abides  upon  him,"  John  iii.  16, 17, 18,  36.  Those  words, 
"  That  whosoever  believeth  on  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life,"  explain  and  limit  God's  love  and  intention,  in 
giving  his  Son  to  save  the  world,  and  likewise  serve,  as  a  key, 
to  let  us  into  the  meaning  of  the  word  world,  and  of  all  that  is 
here  spoken  of  it;  that  God,  out  of  infinite  love,  gave  his  only 
begotten  Son  to  redeem  and  save  all  men,  all  the  world  over, 
who,  in  time,  believe  on  him;  but  such  as  never  believe  on 
him,  they  are  condemned  already,  they  shall  not  see  life:  but  the 
wrath  of  God  abides  upon  them:  and  hence  it  follows,  that  they 
are  no  part  of  that  world  which  God  loved,  which  he  sent  his 
Son  to  save;  and  consequently  that  world  does  not,  cannot  in- 
clude in  it  every  individual  person,  that  ever  has  been,  now  is, 
or  hereafter  shall  be  in  the  world;  for  so  taken,  it  must  include 
those  who  are  condemned  already,  those  who  shall  not  see  life, 
those  who  have  the  wrath  of  God  abiding  upon  them.  This 
would  be  to  charge  God  with  pursuing  two  contrary  ends  and 
designs,  at  the  same  time,  his  condemning  many,  whom  yet  he 
sent  his  Son  not  to  condemn,  but  to  save;  and  his  intention  of 


OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  181 

giving  life  to  many,  concerning  whom  he  has  declared,  that  they 
shall  not  see  life;  and  his  loving  many,  upon  whom  his  wrath 
always  abides,  who  by  nature,  were  children  of  wrath,  and 
were  never  delivered  from  that  wratii.  This  would  be  to  make 
God  act  as  absurdly  as  these  men  argue.  Not  only  in  the  verse 
cited,  but  in  those  that  go  before,  Christ  took  care  to  explain  the 
Fatlier's  intention,  in  sending  the  Son  to  redeem  and  save  men, 
when  he  said;  "As  JNIoses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilder- 
ness, even  so  must  the  Son  of  man  be  lifted  up,  that  whosoever 
believes  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life," 
John  iii.  14,  15.  Here  is  not  one  word  of  God's  love  to  every 
man,  or  of  his  intention,  that  his  Son  should  redeem  and  save 
every  man. 

All  that  our  opponents  have  to  plead  here,  is  contained  in 
one  single  word,  and  that  of  a  very  doubtful  and  different  sig- 
nification, even  the  word  icorld;  which,  in  the  first  chapter  of 
John,  10  verse,  is  evidently  meant  of  but  a  part  of  mankind; 
and,  for  the  reasons  given,  is  so  to  be  taken  in  the  verses  under 
present  consideration.  If  our  opponents  deny  this,  and  affirm, 
that  the  word  world  is,  and  must  be,  here  meant  of  every  man, 
it  is  incumbent  on  them  to  prove  their  assertion  and  confute 
our  reasons  to  the  contrary;  otherwise  our  assertion,  that  it 
means  only  some  men,  not  all.  men,  is  as  good  a  proof  of  our 
doctrine  of  particular  redemption,  as  their  bare  assertion  that 
the  word  world  means  all  men,  can  be  that  Christ  died  to  redeem 
all  men.  But  we  will  be  so  generous  as  to  give  up  the  cause 
to  them,  if  they  can  fairly,  not  from  this  chapter  only,  but  from 
any  other  scripture,  make  it  appear  that  the  word  icorld, 
applied  to  our  redemption  and  salvation  by  Christ,  does,  and 
must,  evidently  mean  all  mankind,  without  exception.  And  if 
they  cannot,  how  vain  are  all  their  flourishes,  and  how  impotent 
is  all  their  declamation  upon  this  word?  Till  this  is  done,  they 
ought  not  to  give  themselves,  or  others,  so  much  trouble  about 
an  ambiguous  word,  which  is  used  in  so  many  different  senses 
in  Scripture. 

It  may  be  said,  if  the  word  world  cannot  be  proved  to  signify 
all  men,  in  any  place  relating  to  redemption,  yet  in  all  such 
places  it  includes  the  wicked  and  ungodly,  as  well  as  the  good, 
and  therefore  it  is  equivalent  to  an  universal;  for  if  Christ  died 
for  the  evil  and  for  the  good,  he  died  for  all  men,  seeing  the 
whole  species,  or  kind,  is  comprehended  in  this  subdivision.  To 
this  I  answer  in  general,  God  justifies  the  ungodly,  and  he  jus- 
tifies the  godly;  and  therefore  according  to  this  way  of  arguing, 
he  justifies  all  men,  which  is  both  false  and  absurd  to  suppose; 
but  to  be  more  particular,  it  is  not  true,  that  the  word  world. 
in  all  those  places  relathig  to  redemption,  includes  the  finally 
wicked  and  ungodly. 

It  is  indeed,  boldly  asserted,  that  the  word  world  nQ^ei  signi- 


182  OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

fies  the  elect  only,  in  opposition  to  the  wicked  of  the  world:  but 
still  the  wicked  of  the  world,  in  opposition  to  the  faithful  Chris- 
tians. We  do  not  deny  that  Christ  "  died  for  the  ungodly;  that 
when  we  were  enemies,  we  were  reconciled  to  God,  by  the  death 
of  his  Son;"  nor  can  it  be  denied  that  Christ  died  for  his  sheep, 
for  his  church,  for  believers ;  but  then  we  are  to  know  that  the 
ungodly  man,  and  the  enemy,  for  whom  Christ  died,  is  the  same 
with  the  good  man, the  reconciled, the  sheep,  the  believer;  these 
diiferent  or  contrary  denominations  point  out  not  two  different 
sorts  of  men,  those  who  are  saved,  and  those  that  perish ;  but 
two  different  states  of  the  same  persons,  what  they  are  by  na- 
ture, and  what  they  are  by  grace ;  what  they  were  before  con- 
version, enemies,  wicked,  and  ungodly;  and  what  they  are  at 
and  after  conversion,  reconciled,  believers,  faithful,  the  church, 
and  Christ's  sheep. 

There  are  several  places,  relating  to  our  redemption  by  Christ, 
where  the  word  world  is  to  be  understood  of  the  elect,  or  be- 
lievers only;  as  "  God  sent  his  Son  into  the  world,  that  through 
him,  the  v/orld  might  be  saved,"  John  iii.  17;  but  only  believers 
are  saved  through  Christ;  believers  therefore  are  that  world 
which  Christ  Avas  sent  to  save.  "Christ  gives  life  to  the  world," 
John  vi.  33,  but  Christ  gives  life  only  to  believers;  and  there- 
fore believers  only  are  that  world,  to  which  Christ  gives  life. 
"  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  to  himself,  not  impu- 
ting their  trespasses  unto  them,"  2  Cor,  v.  19.  But  the  world, 
to  whom  God  does  not  impute  their  trespasses,  are  only  be- 
lievers; therefore  only  believers  are  meant  by  that  world,  which 
God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  to  himself.  This  last  cited  text 
does  not  barely  exhibit  to  us  the  form  of  doctrine,  which  the 
ministers  of  reconciliation  were  to  preach,  but  the  matter  of  fact 
already  done ;  God  had  been  propitiated,  by  the  sacrifice  offered 
by  his  Son,  for  that  world,  to  whom  he  does  not  impute  their 
trespasses,  but  who  are  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him: 
hence  it  is  said,  "  he  was,  not  he  will  be,  reconciling  the  world 
to  himself."  And  the  apostle  first  asserts,  that  the  reconcilia- 
tion was  made  by  Christ,  and  then  tells  us,  that  the  ministry  of 
this  reconciliation  was  committed  to  him  and  his  brethren. 

Augustine,  in  his  dispute  with  the  Donatists,  explains  the 
last  cited  scripture,  as  we  have  done:  "They,  (the  Donatists) 
will  not  consent  (says  he)  that  the  church  can  be  signified  by 
the  word  loorld,  contrary  to  the  words  of  the  apostle,  "  God 
was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  to  himself;"  and  contrary 
to  the  words  of  our  Lord  himself,  who  saith, '.'  The  Son  of  man 
came  not  to  judge  the  world,  but  that  the  world  might  be 
saved  by  him;"  for  the  world  could  neither  be  reconciled  to 
God,  nor  saved  by  him,  unless  by  the  word  world  the  church 
be  understood,  which  only  being  reconciled  to  God,  shall  be 
saved  by  him. 


OF    PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  183 

The  apostle  tells  the  Colossians,  that  "the  gospel  was  come 
into  all  the  world,  and  brought  forth  fruit,"  Col.  i.  6.  What 
can  here  be  meant  by  all  the  world,  but  believers?  For  in 
others  the  gospel  does  not  bring  forth  fruit,  as  it  did  in  the 
Colossians.  Other  places  might  be  produced,  in  which  the 
word  world  is  to  be  understood  of  the  elect  or  believers  only; 
but  I  cannot  find  one  place  in  which  the  word  world,  when 
used  with  relation  to  redemption,  signifies  those  that  perish, 
and  much  less  such  only.  In  answer  to  the  objection,  let  it  be 
observed  farther,  that  supposing  the  whole  world  always  meant 
the  wicked  and  ungodly,  yet  it  cannot  be  proved  that  it  means 
all  the  wicked,  and  all  the  ungodly,  those  who  perish,  as  well 
as  those  who  are  saved;  and  consequently  this  mighty  word 
world  affords  no  solid  argument  for  universal  redemption.  It 
is  very  remarkable,  that  though  God  is  said  to  love  the  world, 
yet  it  is  no  where  said,  in  Scripture,  that  he  loves  all  men:  and 
though  Christ  is  said  to  give  his  flesh  for  the  life  of  the  world, 
yet  it  is  no  where  said  that  he  gave  his  flesh  for  the  life  of  all 
men,  or  of  all  mankind. 

If  the  word  world  will  not  make  out  the  point,  our  oppo- 
nents think  that  universal  redemption  is  fully  proved  by  these 
words;  "He  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins,  and  not  for  ours 
only,  but  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world,"  1  John  i.  2.  It  is 
not  said,  he  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins,  and  for  the  sins  of 
every  man,  or  of  all  mankind  besides :  that  would  have  made 
the  proof  clear  and  decisive.  But,  before  I  come  to  the  pai- 
ticular  answer  to  this  allegation,  let  it  be  observed  in  general, 
that  those  words  in  the  text,  the  whole  world,  are  evidently 
used  in  a  limited  restrictive  sense:  as  the  antithesis  shows, 
"  and  not  for  ours  only,  but  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world;" 
so  that  there  is  a  whole  world  besides  those  meant  by  the  apos 
tie,  when  he  says,  "  He  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins,"  his 
own,  and  those  to  whom  he  wrote.  Our  opponents  therefore 
stumble  at  the  threshold,  and  produce  a  text,  which,  at  first 
sight,  shows,  that  those  big  sounding  words,  the  whole  world, 
do  not,  even  in  that  place,  signify  all  and  every  man  in  the 
world,  but  a  part  of  it,  distinguished  from  the  rest,  as  has  been 
already  noted. 

It  is  said,  that  the  words,  the  whole  world,  never,  in  Scrip- 
ture, signify  the  elect  only,  in  opposition  to  the  wicked,  in  the 
whole  world:  to  which  I  reply,  that  the  words,  all  the  world 
which  are  equivalent  to  the  whole  world,  are  evidently  used 
concerning  the  elect.  "  The  gospel  was  come  into  all  the  world, 
and  brought  forth  fruit,"  Col.  i.  6.  All  the  world  in  whom  the 
gospel  brought  forth  fruit,  must  here  mean  the  elect,  believers; 
for  in  others  it  did  not  bring  forth  fruit.  The  apostle  John  said, 
^'  We  are  of  God,  and  the  whole  world  heth  in  wickedness," 
i  John  V.  19.     The  whole  world  here  evidently  signifies  the 


184  OF    PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

worse  and  wicked  part  of  the  world;  and  when  it  is  said,  "  Ho 
is  the  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world,"  why  may 
not  the  words  denote  the  better  part  of  the  world,  the  elect,  the 
church  of  God?  We  have  as  good  a  right,  and  greater  reason, 
to  affirm  it,  than  others  have  to  deny  it. 

[1.]  The  word  propitiation  seems  to  limit  the  expression  to 
believers:  "God  has  set  forth  his  Son  to  be  a  propitiation, 
through  faith  in  his  blood."  The  word  propitiation,  in  Scrip- 
ture, never  extends  to  any  but  believers,  or  refers  to  any  others; 
so  vain  is  the  attempt  to  apply  it  to  all  mankind,  and  thereby 
prove  universal  redemption. 

[2.]  The  persons  for  whom  Christ  is  said  to  be  a  propitiation, 
are  those  for  whom  he  is  an  Advocate,  or  Intercessor;  but  he 
is  not  an  Intercessor  for  all  men,  and  therefore  he  was  not  a 
propitiation  for  the  sins  of  all  men;  and  consequently  the  apos- 
tle could  not  mean  every  individual  man  when  he  said,  that 
"  Christ  was  a  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world." 
There  is  an  inseparable  connexion  between  the  propitiation 
and  the  intercession :  "  We  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father, 
Jesus  Christ  the  righteous,  who  also  is  the  propitiation  for  our 
sins,  yea  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world ;"  for  the  sins  of  all 
for  whom  he  is  an  Advocate  with  the  Father ;  for  his  interces- 
sion is  founded  upon  his  sacrifice:  he  suffered  and  satisfied  for 
those  for  whom  he  intercedes;  and  therefore  his  intercession  is 
effectual,  or  prevalent  with  God.  This  seems  to  be  the  sum 
and  scope  of  the  apostle's  reasoning;  and  it  very  clearly  points 
out  whom  he  intends  by  the  whole  world,  for  whose  sins  Christ 
is  said  to  be  a  propitiation. 

[3.]  The  scope  of  the  apostle  is  to  comfort  weak  believers, 
under  an  over-bearing  sense  of  their  sinful  infirmities.  The 
argument  he  uses  is,  Christ's  pleading  in  heaven  the  virtue  of 
that  atoning  sacrifice,  which  he  had  offered  on  earth,  not  only 
for  their  particular  sins,  but  for  the  sins  of  all  his  people 
throughout  the  world:  and  a  sacrifice  of  such  virtue  and  ex- 
tent, he  intimates,  would  bear  a  sufficient  plea  for  the  remission 
of  their  sins.  According  to  our  doctrine,  the  apostle's  reason- 
ing is  just,  and  the  consolation  strong  :  but  what  comfort  can  it 
be  to  a  poor  dejected  Christian,  oppressed  with  his  guilty  fears, 
to  tell  him,  that  Christ  loved  and  died  for  all  men  alike;  for 
Cain  and  Judas,  as  well  as  for  any  others;  that  there  was  a 
possibility  of  pardon  and  life  procured  for  all,  if  they  would 
believe  and  repent;  this  they  must  do  of  themselves,  and  when 
they  have  done  it,  they  may  fall  from  their  faith  into  eternal 
perdition;  and  that  this  universal  propitiation  has  neither  pur- 
chased grace  for  unbelievers,  nor  perseverance  for  true  be- 
lievers, but  left  it  to  themselves,  to  believe  and  repent,  and 
mortify  sin,  and  secure  eternal  life  by  their  own  power?  Is 
this  the  doctrine  of  the  gospel?     Is  this  strong  consolation? 


OF   PARTICULAR  REDEMPTION.  185 

May  not  the  poor  distressed  soul  say,  Miserable  comforters  are 
ye  all?  "  But  God  has,  by  two  immutable  things,  in  which  it 
is  impossible  for  him  to  lie,  given  strong,  and  much  better  con- 
solation to  the  heirs  of  promise,  who  have  fled  for  refuge  to 
Christ,  and  have  laid  hold  on  the  hope  set'before  them."  Heb. 
vi.  18. 

[4.]  The  words,  the  tvhole  world,  are  in  Scripture  generally, 
if  not  always,  used  in  a  restrictive  sense,  A  decree  was  made, 
that  the  whole  world  should  he  taxed,  which  whole  world  was 
no  more  than  the  whole  Roman  empire;  Luke  ii.  1.  The  devil 
is  said  to  deceive  the  whole  world,  Rev.  xii.  9,  and  yet  it  was 
impossible  that  he  should  deceive  the  elect:  Christ  said  to  the 
church  in  Philadelphia,  "  I  will  keep  thee  from  the  hour  of 
temptation,  which  shall  come  upon  the  whole  world;"  chap, 
iii.  10.  The  apostle  Paul  said  to  the  believers  at  Rome,  "  Your 
faith  is  spoken  of  throughout  the  whole  world,"  Rom.  i.  8,  and 
yet  a  great  part  of  the  world  were  dead  before  they  believed. 
If  then  the  whole  world  generally  signifies  but  part  of  mankind, 
we  demand  a  reason  why  it  must  mean  every  man,  in  the  text 
under  consideration. 

[5.]  The  apostle  John  was  a  minister  of  the  circumcision: 
at  first  he  preached  only  to  the  Jews:  they  would  allow  the 
Gentiles,  whom  they  called  the  world,  no  part  with  them  in  the 
great  salvation:  and  it  appears  to  have  been  a  distinction  much 
in  use,  at  first,  between  Jew  and  Gentile;  the  former  were 
called  God's  people ;  the  latter  the  world.  Hence  the  falling  of 
the  Jews  is  said  to  be  the  riches  of  the  world,  or  the  Gentiles; 
Rom.  xi.  12.  Accordingly  St.  John  might,  by  the  world,  signify 
the  Gentiles;  and  teach  us,  that  all  believers,  among  all  nations, 
and  not  only  among  the  Jews,  had  the  benefit  and  comfort  of 
Christ's  sacrifice  and  intercession. 

[6.]  It  being  agreed  between  us,  that  the  apostle's  scope  and 
design  is  to  comfort  believers,  dejected  with  a  sense  of  their 
sins,  the  question  is,  which  tends  most  to  comfort  them,  the 
asserting  that  Christ  procured  a  possible  or  conditional  recon- 
ciliation for  all  men,  or  a  certain  and  eternal  redemption  for  a 
select  and  chosen  number?  To  bring  this  debate  to  a  short 
issue ;  when  our  opponents  have  spent  their  whole  strength  in 
asserting,  and  as  they  think,  proving,  that  Christ  was  the  pro- 
pitiation for  the  sins  of  all  mankind,  without  exception,  yet,  at 
last,  they  are  forced  to  own,  that  none  but  final  believers  shall 
obtain  eternal  life ;  and  we  constantly  affirm,  with  the  Scrip- 
ture, that  all  who  believe  in  Christ  shall  be  saved.  Wherein, 
then,  is  their  doctrine  more  comfortable  than  ours,  or  indeed  so 
much?  The  comfort  belongs  only  to  believers,  and  to  all  such, 
whether  Christ  died  to  redeem  all  men,  or  some  only:  but  those 
who  hold  the  latter  say,  not  only  that  such  may,  but  that  they 
shall  believe.     All  that  the  Father  has  given  Christ  shall  come, 

24 


186  OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

and  such  as  come,  shall  not  be  rejected,  or  fall  from  their  faith 
and  happiness,  John  vi.  37,  for  "  Christ's  sheep  hear  his  voice, 
and  follow  him,  and  he  gives  them  eternal  life,  and  they  shall 
never  perish,"  chap.  x.  28. — On  these  accounts,  and  on  others, 
that  might  have  been  added,  we  maintain,  that  there  was  no 
need  to  assert,  that  Christ  is  the  propitiation  for  the  sins  of 
every  man  conditionally,  in  order  to  believers'  comfort,  seeing 
without  that  assertion  their  comfort  is  more  effectually  and  suf- 
ficiently provided  for:  and  from  all  the  fore-mentioned  rea- 
sons put  together,  we  conclude,  that  God's  chosen  throughout 
the  world,  are  the  persons  for  whose  sins  Christ  was  a  propi- 
tiation. 

Upon  the  whole,  the  Scripture,  when  it  speaks  of  the  world 
of  the  redeemed,  represents  them  by  universal  terms,  but  yet  so 
as  to  mean  the  elect  only.  Which  Prosper  elegantly  expresses: 
"  In  the  elect  and  foreknown,  and  from  all  generality  severed,  a 
certain,  special  universality  is  supposed ;  so  as  the  whole  world 
is  freed  out  of  the  whole  world,  and  all  men  seem  to  be  redeem- 
ed from  among  all  men."  "Now  also  Christ  was  subject  to  the 
Father,  yet  not  for  all,  but  for  believers  in  him  only,  for  whom 
he  otiered  himself  to  the  Father,  as  the  immaculate  Lamb,  that 
he  might  present  us  to  his  Father,  freed  from  all  sin;"  as  Cyril 
of  Alexandria  expresses  it.  This  was  the  sense  of  leading  men 
m  the  church  of  God,  after  this  point  had  been  more  attentively 
looked  into  and  examined.  Concerning  which  some  of  the  an- 
cients had  expressed  themselves  with  less  care,  before  it  came 
to  be  the  subject  of  more  close  debate. 

(2.)  Our  opponents  insist  much  on  several  other  general  or 
miiversal  terms  used  in  Scripture,  which,  as  they  think,  prove 
universal  redemption;  or  that  Christ  gave  himself  to  redeem  all 
and  every  individual  man.  Here  they  urge  the  words  all,  all 
men,  every  man,  with  as  much  vehemence,  and  to  as  little  pur- 
pose, as  they  had  pleaded  the  words  world,  and  whole  world,m 
favour  of  their  opinion.  That  they  may  not  think  themselves 
neglected,  I  shall  cite  the  principal  texts  produced,  with  some 
short  remarks  upon  them. 

Before  I  enter  upon  the  particular  instances,  let  it  be  observed 
that  the  word  all,  in  many  places,  some  say  near  five  hundred, 
is  used  with  limitation,  and  does  not  signify  every  individual 
person,  or  thing.  Thus  it  is  said,  that  "  Christ  healed  all  that 
were  sick,"  Mat.  vih.  16,  not  all  men  who  lived  and  died  before 
he  came  in  the  tlesh,  or  who  lived  at  that  time,  but  all  that  came 
or  were  brought  to  him.  So  Paul  said,  that  "  he  pleased  all 
men  in  all  things,"  1  Cor.  x.  33,  whereas  he  knew  but  a  part  of 
the  world,  and  pleased  but  some  of  those  he  did  know,  and  of 
them  but  few,  if  any,  in  all  things.  He  also  said,  "All  things 
are  lawful  to  me,"  verse  23.  What  a  horrid  assertion  would 
this  be,  strictly  taken  ?  God  promised  to  "pour  out  his  Spirit  on 


OF   PARTICrLAR   REDEMPTION.  187 

all  flesh,"  Acts  ii.  17,  not  every  individual  person,  but  upon 
some  of  all  sorts,  ages,  and  degrees.  Prayers  are  to  be  made  for 
all  men,  but  not  for  all  the  dead  and  damned,  1  Tim.  ii.  16,  or 
those  that  have  sinned  to  death,  1  John  v.  6.  So  with  relation 
to  the  resurrection  it  is  said,  "  In  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive," 
1  Cor.  XV.  22,  but  not  strictly  every  man,  for  a  great  number 
shall  not  die,  and  therefore  cannot  rise  again,  verse  51.  It  shows 
a  strong  bias  to  an  opinion  for  our  adversaries  to  bring  this 
text  to  prove  universal  redemption,  which  when  they  have  tor- 
tured it  all  they  can,  will  never  so  much  as  prove  an  universal 
resurrection.  Tlie  same  may  be  said  as  to  other  texts  they  pro- 
duce; however,  let  their  allegations  from  Scripture  have  a  fair 
hearing. 

[1.]  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  said;  "I,  if  I  am  lifted  up  from  the 
earth,  will  draw  all  men  to  me,"  John  xii.  32.  Now,  say  some, 
he  who,  by  his  death,  draws  all  men  to  him,  undoubtedly  died 
for  all  men.  But  this  text  is  ill  chosen  as  a  witness  for  univer- 
sal redemption,  seeing  Christ  could  not  mean  all  men,  and  every 
man,  by  the  all  that  he  would  draw  to  him  ;  for  he  told  the  un- 
believing Jews  that  they  would  not  come  to  him,  chap.  v.  40, 
and  at  the  very  time  when  Christ  spoke  these  words,  there  were 
multitudes  in  the  prison  of  hell,  who  could  never  be  drawn  to 
him  in  any  sense.  A  noted  writer  on  the  other  side,  interprets 
the  cited  text  of  Christ's  engaging  many,  throughout  all  the  parts 
of  the  world,  to  believe  in  him;  but  how  is  that  a  proof  of  uni- 
versal redemption?  Chrysosiom  by  a//,  understands  the  Gen- 
tiles; and  by  Christ's  drawing,  understands  his  bringing  men 
to  believe.  Now,  if  it  can  be  proved  that  Christ  brings  all  men 
to  believe  on  him,  we  shall  readily  allow,  that  he  died,  or  was 
lifted  up  to  redeem  all  men. 

[2.]  It  is  said,  by  the  apostle  Paul,  that  "  God  has  concluded 
them  all  in  unbelief,  that  he  might  have  mercy  on  all,"  Rom. 
xi.  32.  By  all,  Jews  and  Gentiles  are  here  meant;  not  as  a  strict 
universality;  for  so  taken,  God  has  not  mercy,  saving  mercy  on 
all,  but  upon  some  of  them  only.  There  is  severity  exercised 
towards  the  unbelieving  Jews,  verse  22,  and  the  apostle's  high- 
est aim  was  to  save  some  of  them,  verse  14,  which  makes  it 
very  plain,  that  not  all  the  Jews,  much  less  all  men,  strictly 
taken,  are  meant  by  the  all,  which  the  Scripture  says  God  would 
have  mercy  upon. 

[3.]  Our  opponents  urge  that  scripture,  "  As  by  the  offence 
of  one,  judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  condemnation;  so  by 
the  righteousness  of  one,  the  free  gift  came  upon  all  men  to  jus- 
tification of  life,"  Rom.  v.  18.  It  is  observed,  "that  the  apos- 
tle is  comparing  the  condemnation,  which  was  procured  by  the 
sin  of  the  first  Adam,  with  the  free  gift  of  justification,  procured 
by  the  second  Adam,  as  to  the  extent  of  persons  concerned  in 


188  OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

both."  Be  it  so;  Adam  brought  condemnation  and  death  upon 
all  his  seed;  so  Christ  brought  justification  and  eternal  life  upon 
all  his  seed;  all  men,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  generation,  are 
the  seed  of  the  first  Adam;  but  all  men,  so  taken,  are  not  the 
seed  of  the  second  Adam ;  for  the  redeemed  are  a  "  peculiar 
people,  selected  out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people, 
and  nation,"  Rev.  v.  9.  And  yet  they  may  be  said  to  be  all 
men,  in  a  federal  sense,  or  all  men  given  him  by  the  Father,  or 
all  who,  in  time,  believe  on  him.  Thus  the  apostle  himself 
states  the  comparison,  in  these  words ;  "  As  in  Adam  all  die,  so 
in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive;  but  every  man  in  his  own  or- 
der; Christ  the  first  fruits,  afterwards  they  that  are  Christ's  at 
his  coming,"  1  Cor.  xv.  22,23.  It  appears,  from  hence,  that 
death  by  the  first  Adam,  and  life  by  the  second  Adam,  follow 
union  with  either  of  them ;  all  in  the  first  Adam  sinned,  and  die 
in  and  with  him ;  all  in  Christ  the  second  Adam,  who  are  said 
to  be  his,  in  distinction  from  others  who  are  not  his,  shall 
be  made  alive,  shall  rise,  and  live  with  him  for  ever.  There  is, 
then,  an  all,  which  is  restrained  to  them  that  are  Christ's ;  but 
such  a  distinction,  or  limitation,  had  been  not  only  impertinent, 
but  false,  if  all  men  were  in  him,  or  if  justification  of  life  was 
procured  for,  and  olfered  to  all  men  by  Christ,  as  our  adversa- 
ries explain  it.  In  a  few  words,  we  readily  allow  that  Christ 
died  to  redeem  all  those  men  upon  whom  the  free  gift  comes  to 
justification  of  life,  in  the  same  sense,  as  by  Adam's  oftence 
judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  condemnation;  that  is,  if  all  men 
are  actually  justified  by  Christ,  and  have  the  sentence  of  eternal 
life  to  pass  upon  them,  then  we  must  allow  that  Christ  died  to 
redeem  and  save  all  men;  and  till  that  be  proved,  the  scripture 
in  debate  between  us  will  be  of  little  service  to  the  cause  of  uni- 
versal redemption.  To  say  that  the  same  all  that  died,  and 
were  condemned,  in  and  with  the  first  Adam,  are  justified,  and 
live  in  and  with  the  second  Adam,  is  to  beg  the  question,  and 
to  leave  the  devils  no  company  in  hell. 

[4.]  Another  text  pleaded  in  favour  of  universal  redemption 
is  this;  "if  one  died  for  all,  then  were  all  dead;  and  that  he 
died  for  all,  that  they  which  live,  should  not  henceforth  live  to 
themselves,  but  to  him  that  died  for  them,  and  rose  again,"  2 
Cor.  V.  14,  15.  Our  opponents  argue,  from  this  text,  that  those 
words,  all  ivere  dead,  must  certainly  be  taken  in  their  greatest 
latitude;  wherefore  the  words  preceding,  Christ  died  for  all, 
from  which  they  are  an  inference,  ought  also  to  be  taken  in  the 
same  extent.  Now,  to  clear  the  sense  of  the  text,  let  us  con- 
sider, 

1.  The  apostle's  scope  and  design  is  to  show  how  we  are  con- 
strained and  obliged  to  live  to  Christ,  and  not  to  ourselves;  and 
therefore  every  passage  is  to  be  interpreted  so  as  may  best  agree 


OF   PARTICULAR  REDEMPTION.  189 

with  his  design.  Now,  if  we  understand  these  words,  all  ivere 
dead,  of  a  being  dead  in  sin ;  what  argument  do  they  afford  for 
our  living  to  Christ?  All  were  dead  in  sin,  therefore  we  are 
bound  to  live  to  Christ ;  where  is  the  force  of  the  reasoning  ? 
But  if  we  interpret  the  words  not  of  a  being  dead  in  sin,  but  of 
our  being  dead  to  sin,  as  it  is  elsewhere  explained,*  then  the 
reason  is  strong;  but  the  argument  for  universal  redemption  is 
lost:  for  all  men  are  not  dead  to  sin;  and  if  those  who  are,  or 
shall  be  so  dead,  are  the  all  for  whom  Christ  died;  then  by  that 
oil,  all  mankind  cannot  be  intended.  Even  some  of  the  other 
side  themselves,  by  "  the  all  that  were  dead,"  understand  not 
all  who  were  dead  in  sin,  but  all  who  are  dead  to  sin,  by  virtue 
of  Christ's  death:  all  ought  to  die,  namely,  to  sin.  The  sense 
is  the  same  with  that  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  chapter  of  the 
epistle  to  the  Romans,  though  more  briefly  expressed.  Accord- 
ing to  the  apostle  he  understands  all  Christians,  in  whom  the 
efficacy  of  the  death  of  Christ  exerts  itself;  so  far  as  they,  by  the 
example  of  Christ,  are  "  dead  to  sin  and  the  flesh,"  says  another 
upon  those  words,  Then  were  all  dead. 

2.  The  extent  of  the  all  who  were  dead,  is  to  be  taken  from 
the  all  Christ  died  for.  The  apostle  affirms  so  many  to  be  dead 
as  Christ  died  for;  not  that  Christ  died  for  so  many  as  were 
dead.  If  one  died  for  all,  for  all  whom  he  loved,  and  for  whom 
he  rose  again,  then  all  those  persons  were  dead,  they  died  with 
Christ;  the  old  man  was  crucified  with  him:  they,  by  Christ's 
cross,  became  dead  to  sin,  that  they  might- no  longer  live  therein. 
But  is  this  the  effect  of  the  death  of  Christ  upon  all  men,  or 
upon  some  only?  Let  this  determine  who  the  all  men  are,  for 
whom  Christ  died. 

It  may  be  objected,  that  there  seems  to  be  a  manifest  distinc- 
tion between  the  all  whom  Christ  died  for  and  who  were  dead, 
and  those  who,  by  virtue  of  Christ's  death,  live;  whereas  if 
being  dead  to  sin  was  the  thing  intended,  then  if  it  is  not  the 
same  thing,  yet  it  would  belong  to  all  the  same  persons,  and  at 
the  same  time,  to  be  dead  and  to  live ;  for  the  death  of  sin,  and 
the  life  of  grace,  are  of  the  same  date,  or  commence  at  the  same 
time,  and  extend  to  all  the  same  persons;  the  words  in  the  text 
lie  thus:  "And  that  he  died  for  all,  that  henceforth  they  that 
live,"  implying  that  all  those  do  not  live  for  whom  Christ  died, 
but  that  such  of  them  as  do  live,  are  bound  to  live  to  Christ, 
and  not  to  themselves.  I  must  say,  that  the  objection  is  set  in 
a  strong  light,  and,  at  first  sight,  carries  in  it  something  very 
plausible  and  engaging;  but  yet  I  hope  to  make  it  appear  not 
to  be  the  sense  of  the  text.     The  apostle  here,  as  he  often  does 

*  "  Our  old  man  is  crucified  with  him,  that  the  body  of  sin  might  be  destroyed, 
that  henceforth  we  should  not  serve  sin,"  Rom.  vi.  6,  "  Who  his  own  self  bore 
our  sins  in  his  own  body  upon  the  tree,  that  we  being  dead  to  sin,  should  live  unto 
righteousness,"  1  Pet.  ii.  24. 


190  OF   PARTICULAR  REDEMPTION. 

elsewhere,*  and  as  we  commonly  do,  uses  an  elliptical  sort  of 
speech,  as  appears  from  that  passage,  And  that  he  died  for  all. 
To  make  which  clear  and  full,  we  must  add  those  words,  "  We 
thus  judge,  that  he  died  for  all,  that  henceforth  they  that  live 
should  not  live  to  themselves;"  where  is  understood  that  the 
all  who  were  dead  to  sin,  by  the  cross  of  Christ,  at  the  same 
time  received  a  principle  of  spiritual  life,  which  was  to  be  im- 
proved in  living  to  Christ;  so  that  by  all  that  icere  dead,  and 
those  that  live,  the  apostle  means  the  same  persons,  though  he 
does  not  take  up  time  to  say,  we  thus  judge,  that  all  died  to  sin 
in  Christ;  and  all,  at  the  same  time,  live  in  him  by  faith;  and, 
from  that  very  moment,  are  bound  to  live  to  Christ  in  newness 
of  life.  It  was  taken  for  granted,  by  the  apostle,  that  men 
could  not  be  dead  to  sin,  but,  at  the  same  time,  they  must  live 
in  Chf'ist ;  "  for  without  him  we  can  do  nothing,"  John  xv.  5, 
and  therefore,  without  explaining  all  this,  he  describes  the  same 
persons,  who  were,  in  one  sense,  dead,  to  be,  in  another  sense, 
alive,  and  bound  to  use  that  life  in  obeying  and  glorifying 
Christ.  The  word  henceforth  favours  this  sense:  "Then  were 
all  dead,  that  henceforth  they  who  live,  should  not  live  to  them- 
selves, but  to  Christ."  What  kind  of  reasoning  would  it  be  to 
say,  that  Christ  died  for  all  that  were  dead  in  sins,  that  hence- 
forth among  all  that  were  dead  in  sins,  those  who  live,  should 
not  live  to  themselves:  but  to  say  all  were  dead  in  sin,  by  the 
death  of  Christ,  that  henceforth,  or  from  that  very  time,  they 
should  not  live  to  themselves,  but  to  Christ,  who  died  for  them, 
and  rose  again,  is  good  and  strong  reasoning,  and  of  a  gospel 
strain.  I  think  the  argument  runs  clear  and  strong,  if  we 
apprehend  the  apostle  thus  speaking :  "  In  persuading  men  to 
fly  from  the  wrath  to  come,  and  receive  Christ,  we  feel  the 
constraining  influences  of  his  love,  in  dying  for  his  people,  and 
engaging  them  all  to  die  to  sin,  and  live  to  himself"  If  this  is 
the  genuine  sense  of  the  text,  as  I  take  it  to  be,  the  force  of  the 
objection  is  taken  off"  at  once ;  and,  I  hope,  more  need  not  be 
said  in  answer  to  it. 

3.  The  all  for  whom  Christ  is  said  to  die,  Rom.  iv.  25,  are 
those  very  persons  for  whose  justification  he  rose  again.  I  ask 
then,  did  Christ  rise  again  for  the  justification  of  all  men?  If 
not,  then  all  mankind  are  not  meant  by  the  all  for  whom  Christ 
died. 

4.  The  all  for  whom  Christ  died,  are  neiv  creatures,  ver.  17; 
their  sins  are  not  imputed  to  them,  and  they  are  actually  recon' 
oiled  to  God,  ver.  19;  "and  they  are  made  the  righteousness  of 
God  in  Christ,"  ver.  21.     But  this  is  not  the  case  of  all  men  in 

*  Wliat  the  law  could  not  do,  in  that  it  was  weak  through  the  flesh,  God  send- 
ing his  own  Son  in  tiie  likeness  of  sinful  flesh  (he  did)  that  the  righteousness,  ifcc. 
Rom.  viii.  3.  So  chap.  v.  18.  "As  b}'  tlie  otrence  of  one  (we  supply  judgment 
came)  upon  all  men  to  condemnation." 


OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  191 

the  world,  but  of  all  the  elect,  all  believers;  and  hence  it  fol- 
lows, that  the  all  for  whom  Christ  died,  are  not  all  men  that 
ever  were,  are,  or  shall  be;  and  consequently  that  from  this  text 
it  cannot  be  proved  that  Christ  died  for  all  mankind. 

[5.]  Another  text  alleged  in  favour  of  universal  redemption, 
is  this  which  follows:  "  Who  will  have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and 
come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth;  who  gave  himself  a  ran- 
som for  all,  to  be  testified  in  due  time,"  1  Tim.  ii.  4,  6.  Our 
opponents  think  the  cited  words  to  be  a  clear  declaration  of  the 
intention  both  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son,  relating  to  man's 
redemption ;  of  the  Father  it  is  said,  that  he  would  have  "  all 
men  to  be  saved;"  and  concerning  the  Son,  that  he  "gave  him- 
self a  ransom  for  all ;"  and  hence  they  conclude,  that  Christ 
died  for  all  and  every  man.  In  vindication  of  this  scripture, 
and  in  answer  to  the  argument  drawn  from  it,  let  it  be 
observed, 

1.  That  the  whole  force  of  the  argument  depends  upon  the 
sense  of  the  word  all,  which,  in  the  very  context,  is  used  in  a 
limited  and  restrained  sense,  and  can  never  be  proved  to  be 
used  in  its  largest  sense,  in  the  text  under  consideration.  A 
little  before  it  is  said,  that  "  supplications  and  prayers  are  to  be 
made  for  all  men,  for  kings,  and  for  all  in  authority,"  verse  1 ; 
now,  are  we  here,  by  all  men,  to  understand  every  man?  Are 
Christians  to  pray  for  the  dead,  as  well  as  the  living?  for  the 
damned  in  hell,  or  the  glorified  in  heaven?  for  those  unborn  and 
unknown?  In  the  same  place  it  is  said,  that  thanks  are  to  be 
made  to  God  for  all  men ;  what !  for  Judas,  Cain,  and  Antichrist, 
and  all  who  are  suffering  the  vengeance  of  eternal  fire  ?  If  all 
men  to  be  prayed  for,  and  for  whom  thanks  are  to  be  given, 
mean  only  some  men  of  all  ranks  and  nations,  especially 
those  who  have  it  in  their  power  to  do  more  good  or  harm  than 
others,  as  public  magistrates,  and  the  like;  then  by  the  all  men, 
whom  God  would  have  to  be  saved,  and  for  whom  Christ  is  a 
ransom,  may  be  meant  only  some  men,  some  of  all  sorts,  ranks, 
and  conditions,  which  are  to  be  prayed  for,  seeing  God  has  now 
enlarged  the  pale  of  the  church,  the  Gentiles  flowing  into  it. 
The  will  of  God  that  w^e?^  should  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth,  and  that  they  should  be  saved,  is  equally  extensive;  for 
they  are  joined  together,  without  any  the  least  distinction,  or 
sign  of  difference  between  them.  "  God  will  have  all  men  to 
be  saved,  and  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth;"  all  then  to 
whom  God  does  not  grant  the  means  of  coming  to  the  know- 
ledge of  the  truth,  are  excluded  from  the  all,  whom  God  will 
have  to  be  saved,  and  for  whom  Christ  gave  himself  a  ransom. 

2.  The  ivill  of  God  here  must  mean  either  God's  signification 
of  what  he  requires  men  to  do,  or  a  declaration  of  what  he 
himself  will  certainly  do.  Wherever  God's  word  comes,  he 
requires  all  men  to  repent ;  but  the  event  shows  that  he  does 


192  OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

not  give  repentance  to  all  men,  or  work  it  in  them.*  He  com- 
manded Pharaoh  to  let  Israel  go,  and  yet  foretold  that  he  would 
harden  Pharaoli's  heart,  so  as  he  should  not  hearken,  Exod. 
vii.  2,  3, 4,  where  there  is  a  very  plain  distinction  between  God's 
secret  and  his  revealed  will,  between  what  he  calls  man  to  do, 
and  what  he  will  do  himself.  The  same  appears  in  the  case 
of  Abraham's  offering  up  his  son  Isaac,  and  in  many  others. 
When,  in  the  text  under  consideration,  it  is  said,  that  God  ivill 
have  all  men  to  be  saved,  the  meaning  may  be,  that  he  requires 
all  men,  to  whom  he  sends  his  word,  to  seek  salvation.  Some 
observe,  that  it  is  not  said  that  God  ivill  save  all  men,  as  ex- 
pressing the  certainty  of  what  he  will  do;  but  he  will  have  all 
men  to  be  saved,  as  expressing  the  duty  of  all  men  to  seek 
salvation.  If  by  the  tvill  of  God  is  meant  in  the  text  the 
good  pleasure  of  his  will,  or  the  good  pleasure  which  he  hath 
purposed  in  hitnse/f,  Eph.  i.  5,  9,  then  all  mankind  cannot  be 
meant,  by  the  all  whom  God  will  have  to  be  saved,  and  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth;  seeing  God  "works  all  things 
according  to  the  counsel  of  his  own  will,"  verse  11,  but  God 
does  not  actually  save  all  men;  yet  "his  counsel  shall  stand," 
Isa.  xlvi.  10,  "  and  he  will  do  all  his  pleasure,  in  the  host  of 
heaven,  and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,"  Dan.  iv.  35; 
"who  has  resisted  his  will,"  or  who  can  do  it?  Rom.  ix.  19. 
Now,  this  is  the  will  of  God,  "  that  of  all  whom  he  gave  to 
Christ,  he  should  lose  nothing,  but  should  raise  it  up  at  the  last 
day,"  John  vi.  39.  If,  then,  it  was  the  will  of  God  that  all 
mankind  should  be  saved,  all  mankind  would  actually  be  saved ; 
and  if  all  are  not  actually  saved  from  sin  and  wrath,  then  the 
text  in  debate  cannot  mean  that  God  will  have  every  individual 
person  to  be  saved,  and  consequently  that  Christ's  giving  him- 
self a  ransom  for  all,  cannot  mean  all  mankind,  but  the  all  given 
him  by  the  Father;  for,  as  he  said,  "  he  came  down  from  heaven 
to  do  the  will  of  him  that  sent  him,"  ver.  38,  39. 

It  may  be  said,  God  willed  the  salvation  of  all  men  condi- 
tionally, or  if  they  will  be  saved.  To  this  I  answer:  for  God 
to  will  the  salvation  of  all  men,  if  they  will,  is  not  to  will  it  at 
all;  for  all  men  might  have  rejected.  Nothing  can  be  affirmed 
certainly  of  such  a  will  of  God,  as  depends  upon  the  uncertain 
will  of  the  creature.  If  all  men  will  be  saved,  then  God  wills  the 
salvation  of  all  men;  if  no  man  will  be  saved,  then  God  wills 
the  salvation  of  no  man;  he  has  no  will  of  his  own  who  must 
be  determined  by  the  will  of  another,  and  that  other  is  not  de- 
termined by  his  will.     This  notion  represents  God  as  saying,  I 

*  "  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked, 
but  that  the  wicked  turn  from  his  way  and  live,"  Ezek.  xxxiii.  11.  It  does  not 
hence  follow,  that  God  would  have  all  men,  even  the  wicked  saved,  but  only  that 
he  takes  pleasure  in  the  conversion  and  salvation  of  the  wicked,  as  the  last  clause 
explains  it ;  but  that  "  the  wicked  turn  from  his  way  and  live." 


OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  193 

will  that  every  individual  person  should  be  saved;  nevertheless 
not  as  I  will,  but  as  they  will.  Is  not  this  to  make  the  will  of 
God,  mutable  and  uncertain?  And,  on  this  supposition,  what 
becomes  of  the  immutability  of  his  counsel,  Heb.  vi.  17,  or  how 
"  does  he  work  all  things  according  to  the  counsel  of  his  own 
will?"  Eph.  i.  11.  Is  not  this  evidently  to  dethrone  God,  and 
set  up  man  in  his  room? 

3.  The  will  of  God,  that  all  men  should  be  saved,  is  commen- 
surate to  his  will,  that  "  all  men  should  come  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  truth:"  but  it  is  not  his  will  that  all  men  should  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth;  for  to  some  he  does  not  give  a 
capacity  to  know  it,  as  idiots  and  madmen,  and  to  others  he 
does  not  give,  yea,  he  actually  withholds,  the  means  "  of  coming 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,"  Psal.  cxlvii.  19,  20,  Acts  xvi. 
6,  7,  xvii.  30,  and  some  he  "  gives  over  to  strong  delusions, 
to  believe  a  lie,  that  they  may  be  damned,"  2  Thess.  ii.  11,  12; 
therefore  he  does  not  will  that  all  men  should  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth,  or  that  all  mankind  should  be  saved. 

It  gives  us  a  very  ill  representation  of  God  to  say,  that  he 
willed  the  salvation  of  all  men  if  they  will,  when  he  well  knew 
that  multitudes  never  would  choose  or  desire  salvation  from  sin 
and  wrath,  and  that  he  never  would  make  them  willing,  by  his 
own  gracious  power;  for  this  is  trifling  with  men,  in  a  matter 
of  the  highest  importance,  and  a  pretending  that  love  towards 
them,  which  had  no  reality  in  it,  and  could  be  no  more  than  a 
delusive  show  and  appearance  of  it.  From  what  has  been  said, 
I  think  it  may  clearly  appear,  that  the  scripture  which  has  been 
so  largely  considered,  does  not  prove  that  Christ  died  to  redeem 
and  save  all  men. 

[6.]  It  is  urged,  that  Christ  "  tasted  death  for  every  man," 
Heb.  ii.  9;  and  our  opponents  make  a  mighty  flourish  with  this 
text,  and  would  have  us  believe  that  it  concludes  clearly  and 
strongly  on  their  side.  In  answer  to  this,  let  it  be  considered, 
that  the  word  man  is  not  in  the  Greek  text,  though  if  it  had,  it 
would  have  given  little  or  no  strength  to  their  argument ;  for, 
in  reason,  it  must  have  been  explained  agreeably  to  the  con- 
text, "Christ  tasted  death  for  all  men,"  Heb.  ii.  10,  "or  every 
man,  who  is  one  of  the  many  sons  to  be  brought  to  glory,"  and 
of  whose  salvation  he  is  the  Captain:  every  man  that  is  his 
brother,  and  is  sanctified  by  him,  ver.  11,  every  man  who  is 
one  of  the  children  whom  God  had  given  him,  ver.  13,  every 
man  who,  by  his  death,  is  delivered  from  eternal  death,  ver,  17, 
every  man  that  is  reconciled  by  his  death.  But  this  is  not  the 
lot  of  all  men  in  the  world ;  and  therefore  when  it  is  said,  that 
"  Christ  tasted  death  for  every  man,"  the  apostle  does  not  mean 
that  he  died  to  redeem  and  save  all  mankind. 

It  may  be  said,  though  the  words  ivorld,  whole  world,  and 
all,  may  admit  of  a  restriction,  and  not  always  signify  all  man- 

25 


194  OF    PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

kind,  yet  the  words  every  man,  seem  so  very  full  and  express, 
that  there  is  no  room  to  evade  the  force  of  this  testimony  for 
universal  redemption.  To  which  I  reply,  that  these  very  words, 
every  man,  are  elsewhere  used  in  a  restrictive  and  limited 
sense;  and  therefore  may  be  so  in  the  cited  scripture.  The 
apostle  says,  "Warning  every  man,  and  teaching  every  man," 
Col.  i.  28.  "The  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  is  given  to  every 
man,  to  profit  with,"  1  Cor.  xii.  7.  Nay,  Christ  said,  "  Go 
preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature,"  Mark  xvi.  15:  not  to 
birds  or  beasts,  or  every  man  that  has  been,  then  was,  or  should 
be,  upon  the  face  of  the  earth;  but  generally  and  without  dis- 
tinction, as  to  nation  or  rank,  to  as  many  as  they  could,  where- 
ever  they  came.  No  argument,  therefore,  can  be  drawn,  for 
the  uncertain  meaning  of  the  words,  every  man,  as  signifying 
every  man  that  ever  was,  now  is,  or  hereafter  shall  be,  seeing 
they  are  so  often  taken  in  a  limited  sense;  and,  according  to  the 
context,  are  so  to  be  understood  in  the  scripture  alleged. 

[7.]  Another  text  produced  in  favour  of  universal  redemp- 
tion, is  the  following:  "  He  is  the  Saviour  of  all  men,  especially 
of  those  who  believe,"  1  Tim.  iv.  10.  According  to  our  oppo- 
nents, Christ  is  the  Saviour  of  all  men,  as  to  impetration  or  pur- 
chase; and  the  Saviour  of  believers,  as  to  their  actual  possession 
and  enjoyment  of  salvation.  But  here  are  several  things  to  be 
proved  before  this  text  will  establish  the  doctrine  of  universal 
redemption,  which,  I  believe,  will  never  be  done. 

1.  It  should  be  demonstrated,  that  the  Saviour  here  spoken 
of  is  Jesus  Christ :  there  is  not  a  syllable  in  the  text  to  cause  us 
to  think  so.  The  Saviour  here  spoken  of  is  said  to  be  the  living 
God,  a  title  not  appropriated  to  Christ,  though  he  is  not  excluded 
from  it,  but  is,  on  other  occasions,  so  called:  and  it  may  be  used 
of  God  indefinitely,  who  is  "  the  Hope  of  Israel,  and  the  Saviour 
thereof  in  times  of  trouble,"  Jer.  xiv.  8. 

2.  It  should  be  proved,  that  the  salvation  here  signified  is 
spiri/iialdiud  eternal  salvation;  whereas,  to  an  impartial  judge, 
it  must  rather  appear  to  be  meant  of  a  temporal  &.nd  provide?i- 
iial  salvation:  the  context,  I  think,  carries  it  evidently  this  way, 
if  we  read  the  words  in  their  connexion:  "Therefore  we  both 
labour  and  suffer  reproach,  because  we  trust  in  the  living  God, 
who  is  the  Saviour  of  all  men,  especially  of  those  that  believe:" 
or  we  trust  in  the  living  God  for  support  and  preservation,  in 
the  labours,  and  under  the  reproaches,  which  our  preaching  the 
gospel  occasions;  and  we  have  this  trust  in  God,  because  he  is 
the  Preserver  of  all  men,  and  especially  of  his  own  people;  for 
godliness  has  the  promise  of  this  life,  and  also  of  that  to  come; 
and  therefore  he  will  preserve  us  here,  so  far  as  he  sees  fit:  and 
it  is  to  be  remembered,  that  Paul  had  a  particular  intimation  of 
this,  when  he  first  received  his  commission  from  Christ,  who 
said,  "  I  will  appear  to  thee,  delivering  thee  from  the  people 


OF   PARTICULAR  REDEMPTION.  195 

and  the  Gentiles,  to  whom  now  1  send  thee,"  Acts  xvii.  16. 
Now,  what  relation  has  this  to  universal  redemption  ?  I  have 
often  wondered,  how  men  of  ingenuity  and  learning  could  lay 
such  a  stress  upon  this  text,  which  is  nothing  to  their  purpose, 
even  allowing,  though  I  will  only  suppose,  the  opinion  of  some 
of  the  ancient  writers  to  be  true,  that  the  word  Saviour  means 
Prese7'ver,  as  it  refers  to  all  men ;  and  eternal  salvation,  as  it 
refers  to  believers;  for  even  in  that  way  it  makes  nothing  for 
universal  redemption.  It  is  said,  that  Chrysostom,  CEcumenius, 
Primasius,  and  Ambrose,  came  into  this  last  interpretation ;  so 
did  Thomas  Aquinas,  and  others;  but  I  must  freely  own,  that 
the  former  explanation  of  the  text  seems  more  solid,  pertinent, 
and  evidently  just  and  true. 

3.  Before  this  text  can  establish  universal  redemption,  it 
must  be  proved,  that  there  is  an  actual  universal  salvation :  for 
the  text  does  not  say  that  God  may  be,  by  virtue  of  certain 
remote  conditions  and  possibilities,  the  Saviour  of  all  men ;  but, 
in  that  sense  in  which  he  is  the  Saviour  of  all  men,  he  actually 
is  so  at  present.  Nov/,  if  it  can  be  proved,  that  all  mankind 
are  actually  saved  from  sin,  death,  and  hell,  the  dispute  is  at 
an  end  at  once. 

4.  I  cannot  see  how  they  will  be  able  to  draw  a  possible 
conditional  salvation  out  of  those  words,  especially  of  those 
that  believe;  and  as  to  the  other  part  of  the  verse,  there  is 
nothing  that  looks  like  it.  Upon  the  whole  I  conclude,  that 
the  text  yields  no  support  to  the  doctrine  of  universal  redemp- 
tion. Our  opponents  have  other  arguments,  from  reason,  to 
offer,  and  some  objections  against  our  doctrine  to  make;  the 
consideration  of  which  will  be  the  subject  of  my  next  and  last 
discourse. 


SERMON  IV. 

Titus  ii.  14.— Jesus  Christ  gave  himself  for  us,  that  lie  might  redeem  us  from  all 
iniquity,  and  purify  to  himself  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works. 

Having,  in  some  former  discourses,  offered  several  arguments 
in  defence  of  the  doctrine  of  particular  redemption,  in  my  last 
on  this  subject  I  made  an  entrance  upon  the  consideration  of 
the  arguments  produced  by  our  opponents,  in  favour  of  the 
notion  of  Christ's  dying  for  all  men;  and  I  went  through  the 
objection  against  our  doctrine,  which  is  built  on  the  general 
terms  used  in  Scripture;  such  as  the  world,  the  whole  ivorld, 
all  men,  and  every  man.  I  shall  now  examine  some  other 
objections,  which  are  made  to  our  opinion.     Therefore, 


196  OF   PARTICULAR  REDEMPTION. 

2.  I  shall  proceed  to  another  set  of  objections,  which  are 
brought  against  the  doctrine  of  particular  redemption,  and 
which  the  enemies  of  it  have  always  in  their  mouths,  and  make 
a  great  noise  with.  They  pretend  that  the  opinion  of  Christ's 
dying  for  a  certain  determinate  number,  is  inconsistent  with  the 
general  calls  which  are  given  in  Scripture,  to  all  men,  to  believe 
and  repent;  that  it  detracts  from  the  goodness  and  grace  of  God, 
and  from  the  merit  of  Christ;  that  it  represents  God  as  partial 
or  unjust  to  his  creatures,  and  that  it  takes  away  all  comfort 
from  poor  sirmers.  These  things  sound  plausibly;  but  if  the 
objections  are  severally  and  distinctly  examined  they  will  appear 
to  be  of  no  weight. 

(1.)  The  patrons  of  universal  redemption  often  tell  us,  that 
all  men  are,  in  Scripture,  called  to  repent  and  believe;  therefore 
Christ  died  to  redeem  all  men.  It  is  pleaded,  John  i.  7,  that 
John  the  Baptist  came  to  bear  witness  to  Christ,  that  all  men 
through  him  might  believe;  that  the  apostles,  Mark  xvi.  15, 16, 
were  to  "  go  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature;"  and  every  individual  that  would  believe,  and  be 
baptized,  was  to  be  saved ;  that  "  the  Holy  Spirit  was  to  come 
and  convince  the  world  of  sin,  because  they  believed  not  in 
Christ,"  John  xvi.  8,  and  that  the  apostle  Paul,  Acts  xvii.  30, 
in  his  speech  to  the  Athenians,  declared  that  "  God  commanded 
all  men  every  where  to  repent." 

These  allegations  may  be  thought  to  have  a  great  deal  in 
them  by  such  as  are  taken  by  the  bare  sound  of  words,  without 
considering  their  meaning;  but  it  is  a  sufficient  answer  if  we 
say,  that  seeing  multitudes  in  the  world  have  not  enjoyed  the 
Scriptures,  nor  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  it  is  evident  that  all 
men,  strictly  and  absolutely  speaking,  have  not  been  called  to 
believe  and  repent.  All  the  men  to  v/hom  the  ministry  of  John 
the  Baptist  extended,  were  far  from  being  all  men  in  the  world; 
for  there  were  multitudes  dead  before  he  was  born,  multitudes 
in  his  time  who  never  heard  him,  and  multitudes  since  who 
never  knew  any  thing  of  his  witness  or  testimony:  therefore 
all  the  men  that  might  or  should  be  influenced  by  his  ministry 
to  believe,  could  not  be  meant  of  all  the  individual  men  in  the 
world.  The  apostles  "  going  into  all  the  world,  and  preaching 
the  gospel  to  every  creature,"  must  not  be  interpreted  of  all  the 
individuals  of  mankind,  in  their  day,  much  less  of  all  the  sons 
and  daughters  of  Adanl;  for  then  they  neither  did  nor  could 
fulfil  their  commission:  and  the  next  branch  of  the  cited  scrip- 
ture, "  He  that  believes  shall  be  saved,"  is  rather  an  epitome 
of  the  gospel,  which  they  were  to  preach,  wherever  they  came, 
than  a  command  to  all  men  to  believe:  besides,  we  may  under- 
stand the  words,  as  declaring  the  certain  connexion  between 
faith  and  salvation,  which  makes  nothing  against  the  doctrine 
of  particular  redemption.     Christ  said,  that  the  Holy  Ghost 


OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  197 

should,  when  he  came,  "  reprove  the  world  of  sin,  because 
they  believed  not  on  him ;"  l3Ut  the  world  he  was  to  convince 
cannot  be  understood  of  all  men,  or -every  individual  man, 
seeing  millions  were  dead  long  before  that  time.  The  apostle 
declared,  that  "  God  now  commands  all  men  every  where  to 
repent;"  but  the  words  imply  that  he  did  not  always  do  it; 
"  The  times  of  ignorance  God  winked  at;"  but  now  by  diffu- 
sing the  light  of  his  word  among  the  heathen  world,  he  more 
generally  called  men  off  from  their  idolatries,  to  the  knowledge 
and  worship  of  the  true  God.  Every  individual  man  in  the 
world  cannot  therefore  be  comprehended  in  the  apostle's  ex- 
pressions. If  we  suppose  all  men,  strictly  speaking,  were  call- 
ed to  believe,  we  must  inquire  what  it  is  that  they  are  called 
to  believe:  to  say  it  is  that  Christ  died  for  them,  is  to  take  for 
granted  the  thing  in  question,  whether  he  died  for  all  men:  to 
believe  that  Christ  is  the  true  and  only  Saviour  and  to  receive 
him,  and  depend  upon  him  for  salvation,  as  revealed  in  the 
gospel,  is  that  faith  which  men  are  called  to  by  the  preaching 
of  the  gospel,  and  which  has  the  promise  of  eternal  life  annexed 
to  it;  but  this  does  not  necessarily  suppose  that  Christ  died  for 
all  men. 

There  is  a  sufhcient  ground  to  preach  the  gospel  to  all,  and 
for  any  person,  who  hears  it  to  hearken  to  the  call  of  the  gospel, 
seeing  there  are  many  that  shall  be  saved.  It  would  not  be 
thought  unreasonable  to  urge  all  husbanduien  to  plough  and  sow 
their  lands,  or  all  merchants  to  send  their  effects  abroad,  because 
all  of  the  one  sort  shall  not  have  good  crops,  nor  will  all  of  the 
other  sort  have  good  returns ;  it  is  sufficient  to  put  them  upon 
action,  that  some,  nay,  many  have.  Ministers  are  compared  to 
sowers,  Mat.  xiii.  2,  and  they,  as  well  as  husbandmen,  are  in 
*'  the  morning  to  sow  their  seed,  and  in  the  evening  not  to  with- 
hold their  hand,  not  knowing  whether  shall  prosper,  this  or  that," 
Eccl.  xi.  6.  There  are  three  things  which  lay  a  sufficient  f^3un- 
dation  for  ministers  to  call  all  their  hearers  to  believe,  and  for  any 
of  them  to  hearken  to  the  call.  One  thing  is,  Christ's  ability 
to  save,  to  the  uttermost,  all  who  come  to  God  by  him,  Heb. 
vii.  25.  Another  thing  is,  God's  com.mand,  1  John  iii,  23,  that 
men  believe  in  Christ ;  this  is  the  xoork  of  God,  John  vi.  29, 
that  which  he  requires,  and  that  which  he  is  pleased  with.  Be- 
sides these,  there  is  the  gracious  declaration  and  assurance, 
"  That  w"hosoever  believes  shall  not  perish  ;  and  that  Christ  will 
in  no  wise  cast  out  him  that  comes  to  him,"  John  iii,  16,  vi.  37. 
Upon  these  grounds  the  apostle  pressed  men  to  "believe  in 
Christ,"  Acts  xiii.  38,  and  preached  to  them  forgiveness  of  sins, 
through  faith  in  his  blood ;  for  so  God  has  set  him  forth  to  be  a 
propitiation,  Rom.  iii.  25. 

The  gospel  declares  Christ's  ability  to  save  all  that  come  to 
him ;  that  all  shall  be  saved  who  do  believe  in  him ;  that  it  is 


19S  OF    PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

the  command  of  God  that  men  do  beheve;  and  that  such  as  dc 
not,  must  perish.  Here  is  warrant  enough  for  ministers  to 
preach  Christ  to  all,  and  encourage  all  their  hearers  to  believe 
on  him.  If  they  could  truly  tell  men  that  Christ  died  for  all 
men,  yet  they  could  not  tell  them  that  any  more  should  be 
saved,  than  actually  believe ;  and  it  is  certain,  that  all  who  be- 
lieve shall  be  saved.  It  is  not  my  knowledge  that  Christ  died 
for  me,  that  is  the  ground  of  my  believing  in  him;  but  the 
command  of  God  requiring  it,  and  the  declaration,  that  who- 
soever does  so,  shall  have  eternal  life.  Upon  this,  I  have  not 
only  a  liberty  and  encouragement  to  believe,  when  the  gospel 
is  preached  to  me,  but  it  is  my  duty  so  to  do.  In  the  Olympic 
games,  1  Cor.  ix.  24,  "  there  were  many  run,  though  but  one 
received  the  prize;"  but  in  the  case  before  ns,  not  barely  one, 
but  all  who  believe  shall  be  saved:  and  therefore  when  the 
man  put  the  question  to  Christ,  "  Whether  there  are  few  that 
be  saved?"  he  bid  him  "strive  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate, 
because  many  would  seek  to  enter  in,  and  should  not  be  able," 
Luke  xih.  23,  24. 

The  gospel  is  "  the  power  of  God  to  salvation  to  every  one 
that  believes;"  and  seeing  no  man,  who  enjoys  the  gospel, can 
know  that  he  is  excluded,  but  by  final  impenitence  and  unbe- 
lief, all  men  to  whom  the  gospel  is  preached,  have  the  same 
outward  call,  and  encouragements  to  believe,  as  all  the  saved 
have  had.  It  was  not  personally  made  known  to  them  before- 
hand, that  God  had  chosen,  or  that  Christ  died  for  them  in  par- 
ticular; but  the  general  declarations  and  promises  of  the  gospel 
were  set  before  them,  Christ's  ability  and  willingness  to  save 
lost  sinners,  were  represented  to  them;  and  the  Holy  Spirit 
enabling  them  to  believe  these  things,  and  to  embrace  Christ, 
as  he  is  declared  in  the  gospel,  the  promise  of  the  Redeemer, 
the  salvation  became  theirs :  and  any  person  now  treading  in 
the  steps  of  their  faith,  shall  be  a  fellow-heir  with  them  of  the 
same  happiness. 

If  these  things  be  duly  considered,  it  will  appear  that  there 
is  suflicient  ground  to  call  all  men  to  believe,  and  for  every 
hearer  of  the  gospel  to  seek  faith,  without  the  person's  knowing 
beforehand  that  Christ  died  for  him  in  particular.  Nor  can  I 
see  how  the  knowledge  of  that,  if  it  could  be  had,  by  an  unbe- 
hever,  would  help  him;  seeing  those  who  say  Christ  died  for 
all,  yet  allow,  that  many,  even  of  those  to  whom  he  is  preached, 
perish;  yea,  many  who  have  truly  believed.  And  it  is  granted 
on  all  hands,  that  without  true  faith  and  repentance,  there  is  no 
salvation.  They  who  affirm  that  Christ  died  for  all  men,  gene- 
rally say,  that  he  did  not  procure  them  faith,  nor  undertake 
that  they  should  certainly  exert  their  own  natural  pov/er  to 
believe,  which  they  are  supposed  to  have.  Wherein  then  are 
they  better  than  otherSj  or  so  well  as  those  who  are  waiting  at 


OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  199 

the  pool  side,  till  the  Spirit  moves  upon  the  waters  of  the  sanc- 
tuary? which  he  will  do,  and  make  it  not  only  possible,  but 
certain,  that  some,  yea,  many,  shall  be  saved;  and  every  one 
is  to  wait  and  hope,  upon  these  reasons  and  grounds,  that  he 
stands  as  fair  for  salvation  as  others;  and  should  be  sensible, 
that  whether  Christ  died  for  all,  or  only  some,  yet  it  is  certain, 
that  without  faith  he  cannot  be  saved;  that  it  is  folly  and 
wickedness  to  make  his  misery  certain,  because  his  happiness 
is  to  him  at  present  imcertain;  and,  upon  the  whole,  that  "  it  is 
good  for  a  man  both  to  hope,  and  quietly  to  wait  for  the  salva- 
tion of  the  Lord." 

I  might  further  answer,  to  the  objection,  that  the  calling  all 
who  hear  the  gospel  to  believe,  is  the  way  to  manifest  the 
wickedness  of  men,  and  make  it  appear,  that  their  destruction 
is  of  themselves,  if  they  neglect  or  refuse  this  salvation ;  seeing 
whether  Christ  died  for  all,  or  for  some  only,  yet  they  can  no 
otherwise  know  that  they  have  no  part  in  it;  seeing  it  is  very 
plain,  and  what  all  who  understand  and  preach  the  gospel, 
must,  and  do  tell  the  people,  that  "  whosoever  helieves  shall  not 
perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 

If  it  should  be  said,  if  all  men  who  hear  the  gospel  are  bound 
to  believe  that  they  shall  or  may  be  saved  by  Christ;  then  mul- 
titudes are  bound  to  believe  a  lie,  if  Christ  did  not  die  for  all 
men,  seeing  then  all  men  cannot  be  saved  by  Christ.  To  this 
I  would  answer,  that  to  believe  that  all  men,  who  have  faith  in 
Christ,  shall  be  saved,  is  no  lie,  but  a  plain  certain  truth;  and 
it  is  as  evidently  false,  that  any  man  is  bound  to  believe  that  he 
shall  or  can  be  saved  without  faith  in  Christ;  therefore,  though 
Christ  died  for  some  only,  no  man  who,  under  the  gospel  is 
called  to  believe,  is  required  to  believe  a  lie;  for  all  who  do 
believe  on  Christ  shall  be  saved.  Besides,  the  first  thing  which 
a  man  under  the  gospel  is  called  to  believe,  is  not  that  he  shall 
be  saved  by  Christ,  but  that  "there  is  salvation  in  no  other;" 
and  that  if  he  truly  receives  Christ  by  faith,  he  shall  be  saved, 
but  not  otherwise. 

(2.)  It  is  pretended,  "  that  the  doctrine  of  particular  redemp- 
tion detracts  from  the  goodness  and  grace  of  God,  and  the 
merits  of  Christ;  and  therefore  it  cannot  be  true."  To  this  I 
answer,  that  the  goodness  and  grace  of  God,  and  the  merits  of 
Christ,  are  more  magnitied  and  advantaged  by  the  doctrine  of 
particular  redemption,  than  by  the  doctrine  of  universal  redemp- 
tion. 

It  does  not  honour  the  divine  goodness  and  grace  for  God  to 
leave  all  men  open,  not  only  to  a  possibility,  but  even  a  great 
probability  of  perishing,  notwithstanding  all  that  he  has  done 
to  save  them;  and  yet  so  it  is,  according  to  them  who  say,  he 
^ave  Christ  to  die  for  all  men,  but  only  to  render  their  salvation 


200  OF    PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

possible.  That  love  and  goodness  which  secure  salvation  to 
some,  though  a  smaller  number,  must  be  greater  than  that  love 
and  goodness,  which  provides  only  a  remote  possibility  for  all. 
It  seems  to  show  a  great  coldness  and  indifference,  to  leave  it  a 
second  time  to  the  mutable  will  of  man,  to  secure  his  salvation, 
when  man's  will  in  its  best  condition,  had  ruined  Adam,  and 
all  his  posterity.  Might  it  not  well  have  been  thought,  that  if 
infinite  love  and  goodness  was  showed  to  all  men,  as  it  gave 
Christ  to  die  for  them,  so  it  should  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  apply 
salvation  to  them,  to  make  them  willing  to  embrace  it,  and  fix 
their  adherence  to  it? 

The  scriptures.  Tit.  iii.  4,  5,  set  forth  the  kindness  and  love 
of  God  in  "  the  washing  of  regeneration,  and  the  renewing  of 
the  Holy  Ghost."  The  apostle  said,  "  God  who  is  rich  in  mercy, 
for  the  great  love  wherewith  he  loved  us,  has  quickened  us 
together  with  Christ,"  Eph.  ii.  4,  5.  But  how  does  this  great 
love  and  mercy  towards  man  appear,  in  giving  Christ  for  all 
men,  only  to  make  it  possible  that  they  may  be  saved,  and  then 
leave  the  far  greater  part  of  them  for  ever  ignorant  of  the  way 
of  salvation,  and  multitudes  who  do  know  it,  yea,  all  of  them, 
to  perish  in  their  sins,  if  they  do  not,  of  their  own  free  wills, 
without  any  preventing  grace,  procured  by  Christ,  or  secured 
to  them  by  the  Father,  make  sure  of  this  salvation  ?  Is  this  the 
way  to  exalt  the  grace  of  God,  and  the  merits  of  Christ;  not  to 
procure  a  certainty,  but  only  a  remote  possibility  of  salvation 
for  men? 

If  Christ  died  for  all  men,  and  yet  leaves  many  of  them,  to 
aggravate  their  guilt,  in  rejecting  such  a  Saviour,  when  it  was 
known  to  God,  before  he  gave  Christ  for  them,  what  they  would 
do,  surely  it  would  have  been  more  favour  to  them,  not  to  have 
given  Christ  to  die  for  them,  than  after  that,  to  leave  them  to 
sink  deeper  into  misery,  under  the  guilt  of  "  denying  the  Lord, 
who  bought  them,"  as  some  affirm.  It  must  surely  torment  the 
poor  creatures  abundantly  the  more,  to  think  that  when  Christ 
had  opened  a  door  of  salvation  for  them,  no  kind  hand  would 
be  so  merciful  as  to  lay  hold  on  them  and  draw  them  in. 

Is  it  not  an  unworthy  representation  of  the  God  of  love,  to 
say,  that  though  he  seemed  to  love  all  men,  so  as  to  send  Christ 
to  die  for  them,  yet  he  loved  them  so  little,  as  to  leave  them  all 
to  perish,  if  they  would,  notwithstanding?  I  may  here  argue 
as  the  apostle  did  in  a  lower  case,  when  he  said,  "  Whoso  hath 
this  world's  goods,  and  sees  his  brother  have  need,  and  shuts 
up  his  bowels  of  compassion  from  him,  how  dwells  the  love  of 
God  in  him?"  1  John  iii.  7.  In  like  manner  I  may  say,  if  God 
showed  such  infinite  goodness  and  love  to  all  men,  in  giving 
Christ  to  die  for  them,  how  was  it,  that  when  he  saw  their  need 
of  his  Spirit  and  grace,  and  the  means  of  grace,  he  should  shut 


OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  201 

up  his  bowels  of  compassion  from  them,  leave  them  to  them- 
selves, and  never  so  much  as  send  the  gospel  to  thousands  of 
them  ? 

In  a  few  words,  it  does  not  appear  to  discover  more,  or  so 
much  grace  and  goodness  in  God,  to  take  a  distant  and  remote 
step  towards  the  salvation  of  all,  in  giving  Christ  to  make  it 
possible,  as  in  giving  Christ,  grace,  and  glory,  certainly  to  some, 
yea,  to  a  number,  that  no  man  can  number;  and  to  say,  that 
Christ  died  for  all  men,  not  to  purchase  grace  and  glory  for 
them,  but  only  to  render  their  salvation  possible,  is  to  depreciate, 
not  to  exalt  the  merits  of  Christ,  for  this  is  to  say,  that  he  so  me- 
rited salvation,  as  that  salvation  is  secured  to  no  man;  for  what 
is  only  possible  may  never  be.  And  if  Christ  by  his  death  pro- 
cured a  possibility  of  salvation,  he  only  removed  the  insupera- 
ble obstruction,  that  so  man  might  become  his  own  saviour, 
which  is  to  exalt  the  goodness  and  power  of  the  creature,  and 
not  the  merit  and  grace  of  Christ.  On  the  other  hand,  that 
grace  must  be  infinite  which  gave  Christ  to  procure,  and  secure 
eternal  life,  for  a  vast  multitude  of  poor,  perishing  sinners.  And 
that  merit  must  be  infinite,  which  not  only  paid  their  vast  debt 
to  justice,  but  also  purchased  for  them  an  inconceivable  and 
eternal  weight  of  glory. 

Thus,  I  think,  it  appears  that  the  doctrine  of  particular  re- 
demption does  not  detract  from  the  goodness  and  grace  of  God, 
or  the  merits  of  Christ,  but  that  the  charge  falls  justly  and  very 
heavy  upon  the  contrary  opinion. 

(3.)  It  is  confidently  objected,  "  that  it  represents  God  as  par- 
tial, if  not  Knjnsf,  towards  his  creatures,  if  when  they  were  all 
in  the  same  condition,  he  provided  a  remedy,  a  Redeemer  and 
Saviour  for  some,  and  not  for  others  :  and  the  same  may  be  said 
of  Christ;  for  why  should  not  all,  in  a  like  condition,  be  alike 
dealt  withal?"  I  answer,  that  if  God  may  make  no  difference 
between  his  creatures  in  the  same  condition,  then  he  must 
either  prove  a  Saviour  for  all  sinful  creatures,  or  for  none ;  and 
then  why  was  there  no  Saviour  provided  for  devils  as  well  as 
for  men?  Are  they  not  God's  creatures,  yea,  creatures  of  a 
more  noble  kind  than  man?  Are  they  not  sinful  and  miserable 
creatures,  who  needed  a  Saviour  as  well  as  man:  why  then  are 
they  passed  by  ?  Why  did  not  Christ  take  their  nature,  and 
die  for  them,  as  well  as  for  mankind?  And  if  there  was  no 
blame  or  partiality  in  redeeming  men,  and  not  devils,  why 
should  it  be  thought  a  reflection  upon  God,  to  send  his  Son  to 
redeem  some  men  and  not  others?  Where  many  have  a  just 
and  equal  claim  to  any  benefit,  there  the  giving  it  to  one,  and 
withholding  it  from  others  of  them,  is  unjust  and  dishonour- 
able; but  when  none  of  them  have  any  just  claim  to  it,  but  all 
have  deserved  the  contrary,  there  the  case  is  far  otherwise. 
Where  many  have  deserved  punishment,  and  some  are  ex- 

26 


202  OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

empted  from  it,  without  any  satisfaction  to  the  law,  whilst 
others  are  made  to  suffer  the  law,  there  lies  a  charge  of  unjust 
partiality;  but  this  is  not  the  case  before  us:  though  God  exempts 
that  particular  number  from  condemnation,  for  whom  Christ 
died,  yet  it  is  upon  satisfaction  made  by  their  Surety  and  Sa- 
viour, and  in  punishing  the  rest  he  does  them  no  wrong,  for  he 
inflicts  upon  them  nothing  but  what  is  the  proper  desert,  and 
the  due  wages  of  sin. 

God  in  his  word  has  vindicated  this  right  of  sovereignty  to 
himself,  to  bestow  his  favours  upon  whom  he  will;  as  in  this 
passage,  "Who  art  thou,  0  man!  that  repliest  against  God? 
Has  not  the  potter  power  over  the  clay,  of  the  same  lump  to 
make  one  vessel  to  honour  and  another  to  dishonour?-'  Rom,  ix. 
20,  21.  The  objection  of  partiality  proceeds  from  the  pride  and 
envy  of  man,  as  Clnist  informed  us,  when  he  said,  "  Is  it  not 
lawful  for  me  to  do  what  I  will  with  mine  own?  Is  thine  eye 
evil  because  I  am  good?"  Mat.  xx.  15.  We  see  in  the  daily 
distributions  of  providence  a  great  inequality;  some  are  rich, 
others  poor;  some  healthy,  others  very  sickly;  some  born  de- 
formed, others  well  shaped:  some  wonderfully  preserved, others 
exposed  to  many  perils;  some  have  the  clear  light  of  the  gospel, 
and  millions  know  nothing  of  Christ;  and,  shall  not  God,  be  just, 
because  he  is  thus  partial? 

(4.)  It  is  objected,  "that  the  doctrine  of  particular  redemp- 
tion takes  away  all  comfort  from  poor  sinners;  therefore  it  is 
not  true,"  To  this  I  answer,  that  the  word  of  God  aflbrds  no 
comfort  to  sinners,  whilst  they  remain  in  impenitency  and  unbe- 
lief. "There  is  no  peace,  saith  the  Lord,  to  the  wicked,"  Isa. 
xlviii.  22.  "  He  that  believeth  not  shall  not  see  life,  but  the 
wrath  of  God  abides  upon  him,"  John  iii.  36.  "  Except  ye 
repent  ye  shall  all  likewise  perish,"  Luke  xiii.  5.  Supposing 
Christ  did  die  for  all  men,  yet  that  can  yield  no  comfort  to  a 
man  that  lies  under  the  wrath  and  curse  of  God. 

Those  who  say  that  Christ  died  for  all  men,  do  not  say  that 
all  men  shall  be  saved,  or  that  it  is  so  much  as  probable  that 
they  should.  They  do  not  suppose  that  Christ  is  engaged,  by 
any  special  love,  or  covenant,  to  save  any  man,  who  enjoys 
the  gospel,  any  more  than  those  who  never  enjoy  it,  or  those 
who  are  in  hell.  Nor  do  they  pretend  to  say  that  all,  or  the 
greater  part  of  such  as  enjoy  the  gospel,  will  believe  and  be 
saved ;  and  if  they  do  not,  what  comfort  can  it  afford  men  to 
think  that  Christ  died  for  all  men,  when  if  it  is  so,  that  will  but 
aggravate  their  condemnation  and  misery,  as  rejecters  of  Christ 
and  his  salvation? 

All  who  believe  and  repent  have  the  greatest  grounds  of  joy 
and  comfort,  though  Christ  died  to  redeem  and  save  some  men 
only:  this  is  " strong  consolation  for  all  the  heirs  of  promise, 
who  have  fled  for  refuge,  to  lay  hold  on  Christ  the  hope  set 


OF   PARTICrLAR   REDEMPTION.  203 

before  them."  But,  what  comfort  can  that  doctrine  afford, 
which  leaves  all  men  at  uncertainties,  whether  ever  they  shall 
be  saved,  though  Christ  died  for  them,  and  they  believe  in  him? 
Because  by  his  death,  as  the  friends  of  it  say,  he  established  no 
certainty  of  their  perseverance  and  salvation,  ratified  no  abso- 
lute promises,  did  not  procure  them  persevering  grace,  or  that 
guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  shall  end  in  eternal  life. 

Hov/  is  the  covenant  ordered  in  all  things  and  sure?  What 
consolation  can  he  draw  from  it,  who,  though  he  may  plead 
the  gracious  promises  of  it  to-day,  may  be  excluded  from  all 
interest  in  them  to-morrow,  and  have  no  promise  to  plead  for 
his  recovery,  nor  any  reason  to  hope  that  that  blood,  which  he 
says  was  shed  for  him,  shall  do  any  thing  else,  but  plead  against 
him,  as  one  trampling  it  under  foot?  Whereas  upon  the  foot 
of  particular  redemption  there  is  room  to  expect,  that  where  the 
gospel  comes,  some,  it  may  be  many,  will  be  brought  home  to 
Christ  by  it;  for  all  that  the  Father  hath  given  him  shall  come; 
and  if  they  fall,  they  shall  rise  agaiii.  The  promises  are  sealed 
and  sure;  etlectual  grace  and  eternal  glory  are  purchased  for 
them:  Christ  loves  their  persons,  and  \\r\\\  not  permit  any  of 
them  to  perish;  he  pleads  his  death  for  them,  undertakes  to  pro- 
tect and  guide  them  by  his  Spirit,  till  he  has  brought  them  safe 
to  glory.  Though  they  see  no  worthiness  in  themselves,  yet 
they  may  plead  his  special  love  to  them,  and  his  giving  himself 
for  them,  not  only  to  make  their  salvation  possible,  but  certain; 
and  thus  he  has  given  them  everlasting  consolation,  and  good 
hope  through  grace. 

If  we  tell  a  man  in  distress  and  anguish  of  spirit,  for  his 
reigning  impenitency  and  unbehef,  that  Christ  died  for  him, 
seeing  he  died  for  all  men,  and  therefore  he  may  be  of  good 
comfort,  how  easily  may  he  reply.  Be  it  so,  that  Christ  died  for 
all  men,  and  so  for  me;  yet  I  may  perish  as  well  as  Cain  and 
Judas:  if  Christ  made  my  salvation  possible  by  his  death,  yet  I 
may  make  my  damnation  certain  by  my  unbelief  What  will  it 
profit  me,  that  Christ  died  for  me,  if  my  own  treacherous  unbe- 
lieving heart  shuts  me  out  from  salvation?  I  do  not  perceive, 
that  he  purchased  either  grace  or  glory  for  me,  but  I  am  left  to 
my  own  free  will,  which  I  find  set  against  divine  things,  and 
bent  upon  what  is  evil;  I  have  no  absolute  promises  to  plead, 
no  assurance  that  Christ  procured  the  Holy  Spirit  to  help  such 
as  I  am,  or  that  Christ  loved  any  man  living  better  than  thou- 
sands, whom  he  left  to  perish  in  their  sins;  of  what  advantage 
then  is  it  to  tell  me,  that  Christ  died  for  me  and  all  men?  If 
Christ  had  been  a  propitiation  for  my  unbelief,  as  well  as  my 
other  sins,  I  might  have  entertained  some  hope,  that  I  should 
have  been  delivered  from  it ;  but  now,  though  Christ  died  for 
all  men,  I  may  perish  in  my  unbelief,  as  inevitably  as  if  he  had 
died  for  no  man. 


204  OF    PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

This  I  take  to  be  a  just  representation  of  the  case;  and  surely 
it  is  not  hard  to  infer  from  what  has  been  said,  that  the  doctrine 
of  Christ  dying  for  soine  men,  to  secure  them  grace  and  glory, 
affords  more  solid  comfort  than  the  pretence  that  he  died  ahke 
for  (ill,  to  render  their  salvation  barely  possible,  but  purchased 
for  them  by  his  death  neither  grace  nor  glory,  but  left  them  to 
shift  for  themselves,  to  get  faith  and  preserve  it,  if  they  could, 
or  else  to  perish,  as  millions  have  done  before  them. 

APPLICATION. 

1.  If  Christ  has  rendered  the  salvation  of  his  people  certain, 
he  must  needs  be  a  mighty  and  powerful  Redeemer.  The 
Scripture  has  assured  us,  that  "  God  laid  help  upon  One  who 
is  mighty,"  Psal.  Ixxxix.  19,  and  the  Most  High  is  introduced 
speaking  thus,  Isa.  xlii.  1.  4:  "Behold  my  servant,  whom  I 
uphold;  he  shall  not  fail,  nor  be  discouraged."  It  would  be 
unbecoming  the  wisdom  and  faithfulness  of  God,  to  give  the 
character  of  a  Saviour  to  an  insufficient  person.  Redemption 
is  the  glory  of  all  his  works,  but  it  would  have  been  the  dis- 
grace of  them,  if  he  had  appointed  a  person  to  redeem  us,  who 
was  unable  to  do  it,  and  who  had  failed  in  the  performance; 
for  then  the  chosen  seed  had  been  lost,  the  design  of  his  love 
had  been  disappointed,  the  Sun  of  righteousness  had  set  in  an 
everlasting  cloud  of  darkness,  and  the  wisdom  and  truth  of  God 
had  sufiered  an  eclipse.  Seeing  then  God  has  chosen  Christ  to 
save  men,  and  has  proposed  him  as  a  sufficient  Redeemer,  we 
may  conclude  he  is  such  an  one;  for  the  infinitely  wise  and 
good  God  would  never  have  made  choice  of  one,  who  was  not 
equal  to  an  undertaking,  upon  which  his  honour  and  man's 
happiness  so  much  depended. 

We  cannot  doubt  of  Christ's  ability  to  save,  if  we  consider 
his  person  and  qualifications.  In  his  person  he  is  God-man, 
God  manifested  in  the  flesh;  all  the  perfections  of  God,  and 
all  the  capacities  of  man  meet  in  him.  Hence  he  was  capable 
of  obedience  and  sufferings  as  man,  and  of  bearing  the  weight 
of  vengeance,  as  his  divine  power  supported  the  human  nature. 
As  man  he  could  be  humbled,  crucified,  and  buried;  as  God  he 
could  raise  himself  from  the  dead,  fill  all  things,  convert  the 
elect,  confound  the  wicked,  triumph  over  Satan,  and  bring  many 
sons  to  glory.  The  church  is  taught  to  place  her  confidence  in 
this,  that  her  Saviour  is  God;  not  a  made  God,  but  the  Lord 
Jehovah:  hence  she  could  say,  Isa.  xii.  2,  "  I  will  trust  and  not 
be  afraid;  for  the  Lord  Jehovah  is  become  my  strength,  and  my 
song."  If  the  eternal  God  cannot  be  a  refuge,  and  if  his  ever- 
lasting arms  cannot  uphold  us,  who  shall  ?  where  is  salvation  to 
be  had,  if  not  in  him  "  in  whom  dwells  all  the  fulness  of  the 
Godhead  bodily,  and  who  has  all  power  in  heaven  and  earth? 


OF   PARTICULAR  REDEMPTION.  205 

When  Christ's  human  nature  was  formed  in  the  womb  of  the 
virgin,  "  the  power  of  the  Highest  overshadowed  her,"  not  only 
so  as  to  produce  that  nature  in  an  extraordinary  manner,  but 
also,  so  as  that  the  Son  was  for  ever  closely  united  to  it,  from 
the  first  moment  wherein  the  humanity  did  exist.  Viewing  the 
Redeemer  in  this  light,  we  may  well  conclude  that  he  is  mighty 
to  save.  It  is  therefore  very  good  advice  which  is  given  us, 
to  "  trust  in  the  Lord  for  ever,"  Isa.  xxvi.  4,  "  for  in  the  Lord 
Jehovah  there  is  everlasting  strength."  We  may  say  of  our 
Saviour,  as  Job  once  said.  Job  xlii.  2,  "  I  know  that  thou  canst 
do  every  thing:"  he  can  do  every  thing  consistent  with  the  glory 
of  God,  and  the  counsels  of  his  will. 

Christ  fulfilled  the  law,  suffered  its  curse,  proved  his  divine 
mission  by  miracles,  and  manifested  his  Deity  in  his  resurrec- 
tion :  "  he  made  an  end  of  sin,  and  brought  in  an  everlasting 
righteousness,"  enlightened  many  dark  minds,  bowed  many 
stubborn  wills,  sanctified  many  impure  minds,  gave  them  first 
grace,  and  then  glory.  Christ  even  when  he  was  suffering  in 
weakriess,  seemed  to  yield  to  the  malice  of  his  enemies,  and 
was  dying  under  his  Father's  vengeance;  yet  to  make  it  evi- 
dent, that  he  was  able  to  save,  put  forth  an  act  of  his  almighty 
power  upon  the  heart  of  one  who  was  dying  with  him,  and  first 
made  him  "  willing  in  the  day  of  his  power,"  and  then  carried 
him  up  to  his  celestial  palace.  "  This  day,"  said  he  to  the  con- 
verted thief,  "  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise,"  Luke  xxiii. 
43.  The  consideration  of  the  time,  place,  and  circumstances  of 
this  conversion,  tends  much  to  illustrate  Christ's  saving  power. 
Satan  was  now  gaping  upon  the  prey,  just  ready  to  devour  the 
poor  thief,  who  was  dying  in  all  his  guilt  and  wickedness:  one 
Evangelist  tells  us,  "  That  they  that  were  crucified  with  Christ 
reviled  him,"  Mark  xv.  32,  though  another  says,  "that  one  of 
the  malefactors  railed  on  him,  but  the  other  rebuked  him," 
Luke  xxiii.  39,  40.  These  two  accounts  may  be  thus  reconciled: 
when  the  malefactors  were  first  nailed  to  the  cross,  they  both 
of  them  spit  out  the  venom  of  their  wicked  hearts  against  Christ; 
but  in  a  little  time,  one  of  them  began  to  relent:  he  felt  a  divine 
power  from  the  dying  Jesus  coming  upon  him,  which  opened 
his  eyes,  changed  his  heart,  caused  him  to  rebuke  his  fellow- 
sufferer,  to  pray  to  his  dying  Saviour,  and  to  believe  and  own 
his  sovereignty  and  kingdom;  and  that  when  both  the  Saviour 
and  the  saved  were  in  the  agonies  of  death;  this  was  a  wonder- 
ful instance  and  evidence  of  Christ's  saving  power.  Whilst 
Christ  was  in  this  world,  the  winds  and  the  seas  obeyed  him; 
his  enemies  fell  at  his  feet,  and  licked  the  dust  when  he  pleased; 
the  devils  fled  before  him;  many  believed  in  him,  to  the  saving 
of  their  souls:  all  which  makes  it  very  plain  and  evident,  that 
Clirist  was  mighty  to  save,  a  sufficient  Saviour. 

Christ  invites  all  the  weary  and  heavy  laden  to  come  to  him 


206  or   PARTICULAU  REDEaiPTION. 

for  rest ;  which  shows  his  ability  to  save  all  such  as  come  to 
God  by  him.  Was  there  any  guilt  which  a  redeemed  soul  could 
contract,  any  power  of  sin  in  such  an  one,  which  Christ  could 
not  expiate  and  subdue,  his  invitation  would  be  all  delusion. 
It  is  necessarily  implied,  and  supposed  in  the  invitation,  that 
Christ  is  able  to  save  every  soul  that  is  enabled  to  comply  with 
it.  Christ's  ability  to  save  is  abundantly  declared  in  the  Scrip- 
tures :  "  Is  my  hand,"  says  Christ,  "  shortened  at  all,  that  it 
cannot  redeem;  or  have  I  no  power  to  deliver?"  Isa.  1.  4;  "  who 
will  contend  with  me  ?  let  us  stand  together,"  ver.  8,  9.  There 
is  no  opposing  the  Redeemer;  "he  takes  away  the  captives  of 
the  mighty,  and  the  prey  of  the  terrible,  for  the  Saviour  is  the 
mighty  One  of  Jacob,"  Isa.  xlix.  24,  25.  Satan,  the  prince  of 
this  world  is  spoiled,  judged,  and  cast  out.  Col.  ii.  15,  John  xvi. 
11,  xii.  31.  "The  handwriting  that  was  against  us,  which  was 
contrary  to  us,"  Col.  ii.  14,  Gal.  iii.  13,  "is  taken  away,  Christ 
hath  nailed  it  to  his  cross;  he  redeemed  his  people  from  the 
curse  of  the  law,  being  made  a  curse  for  them :  he  has  abolished 
death,  and  swallowed  it  up  in  victory,  and  brought  life  and  im- 
mortality to  hght,"  2  Tim.  i.  10;  "he  is  the  life,  the  eternal  hfe; 
his  people  reign  in  life  by  him,"  1  Cor.  xv.  54;  hence  dealh  and 
hell  are  said  to  be  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire.  Rev.  xx.  14.  Christ 
saves  all  the  redeemed  from  death  and  misery.  The  Scriptures 
declare,  "that  there  is  salvation  in  no  other,"  Acts  iv.  12;  "he 
is  God's  salvation  to  the  end  of  the  earth,"  Isa.  xlix.  6 ;  which 
shows  Christ  to  be  a  powerful  Redeemer  indeed.  The  promises 
are  all  yea  and  amen  in  Christ  Jesus;  they  are  all  confirmed  by 
him:  the  promised  grace  and  glory  are  purchased,  and  shall  be 
applied  by  him ;  and  therefore  he  is  a  mighty  Saviour. 

It  is  easy  to  cite  a  great  number  of  particular  promises  rela- 
ting to  the  several  parts  of  our  salvation;  but  I  shall  content 
myself  with  one  or  two,  wherein  the  Holy  Ghost  has  summed 
up  all  the  rest :  "  This  is  the  promise  that  he  hath  promised  us, 
even  eternal  life :  this  is  the  record  that  God  has  given  us  eter- 
nal life;  and  this  life  is  in  his  Son,"  1  John  ii.  25,  v.  11.  But 
in  vain  were  such  comprehensive  promises  made,  if  Christ  was 
not  able  to  fulfil  and  make  them  good.  God  has  promised  that 
"  Israel  shall  be  saved  in  the  Lord,  with  an  everlasting  salva- 
tion, Isa.  xlv.  17.  Christ,  then,  is  not  only  able  to  repulse  the 
enemy  once  for  a  little  time,  but  to  secure  his  redeemed  for  ever; 
so  as  "  the  enemy  shall  no  more  exact  upon  him,"  Psal.  Ixxxix. 
22,  or  pluck  them  out  of  his  hand. 

Christ's  sufliciency  for  the  work  of  redemption,  appears  from 
the  dignity  to  which  he  is  raised  in  the  celestial  world.  There 
he  is  a  prevailing  intercessor  with  God.  Some  might  be  apt  to 
think  this  to  be  an  argument  of  weakness,  but  in  Scripture  it  is 
produced  as  a  proof  of  Christ's  ability  to  save:  "  Wherefore  he 
is  able  to  save  them,  to  the  uttermost,  that  come  to  God  by  him, 


OF    PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  207 

seeing  he  ever  lives  (in  heaven)  to  make  intercession  for  them," 
Heb,  vii.  25.  Christ's  intercession  shows  him  to  be  an  able 
Saviour;  for  the  Father  would  never  have  admitted  him  to  plead 
his  merits  in  heaven,  if  he  had  not  paid  a  full  price  of  redemp- 
tion on  earth:  his  plea  is  not  as  a  supplicant  for  mercy,  but  he 
pleads  law  and  justice :  and  therefore  says  peremptorily,  "  Fa- 
ther, /  loill,  that  those  whom  thou  hast  given  me,  should  be 
with  me,  to  behold  my  glory,"  John  xvii.  20.  He  well  knew 
that  his  sacrifice  would  support  his  claim ;  and  his  life  in  hea- 
ven is  a  glorious  evidence  of  his  saving  power:  so  that  every 
Christian  may,  with  Job,  rejoice  in  this,  "  that  his  Redeemer 
hveth,"  Job  xix.  25.  This  shows  that  he  has  satisfied  justice, 
conquered  death,  and  is  able  to  save  us  by  his  life :  the  same 
power  by  which  he  rose  from  the  dead,  and  ascended  up  into 
glory,  is  suflicient  to  "  raise  us  up  together  with  him,  and  make 
us  sit  together  with  him  in  the  heavenly  mansions,  which  he  is 
gone  to  prepare  for  his  people,"  John  xiv.  2.  Christ  taught 
his  people  to  build  a  certain  expectation  of  their  eternal  life 
upon  his,  when  he  said,  "Because  I  live,  ye  shall  live  also," 
John  xiv.  19.  He  who  is  our  advocate  perfectly  understands 
every  case,  which  he  undertakes  to  plead :  he  is  always  heard, 
because  he  pleads  a  merit  which  is  always  acceptable  to  his 
Father ;  and  he  pleads  for  a  happiness  which  is  entirely  agree- 
able to  the  Father's  purpose  and  promise  :  they  therefore  can- 
not miss  of  salvation,  who  have  such  an  advocate  before  the 
throne.  He  n«ver  intercedes  in  vain;  God  gives  him  his  heart's 
desire,  and  withholds  not  the  request  of  his  lips:  he  prayed  for 
Peter,  that  his  faith  might  not  fail,  and  the  effect  followed: 
he  was  recovered  from  his  sad  fall,  and  enabled  to  strengthen 
his  brethren.  Thus  the  life  of  Jesus  is  made  manifest  in  our 
mortal  bodies;  we  are  as  dying,  and  yet  behold  we  live,  because 
Christ  ever  hves  in  heaven,  to  make  intercession  for  us,  and  so 
is  able  to  save  us  to  the  uttermost  from  all  sin  and  misery,  and 
that  for  ever.  In  the  gospel-glass,  we  may  see  "  Jesus  crowned 
with  glory  and  honour,"  Heb.  ii.  9,  which  is  a  convincing  evi- 
dence, that  he  has  procured  eternal  salvation  for  us.  It  is  not 
once  to  be  thought  that  God  would  have  given  such  honours 
to  an  imperfect  insufficient  Saviour:  to  what  purpose  should 
God  have  set  him  over  the  works  of  his  hands,  who  was  not 
able  to  govern  and  over-rule  them  all  to  his  own  ends?  or  why 
should  the  redeemed  ascribe  to  him  "  glory  and  honour,"  Rev. 
V.  9,  as  redeeming  them  to  God  by  his  blood,  if  he  had  failed 
in  that  work,  and  had  not  procured  for  them  "  a  crown  of  glory 
that  fades  not  away?"  Why  was  the  gospel  proclaimed,  and 
the  converting  or  comforting  Spirit  sent  down  from  heaven? 
why  were  all  the  angels  of  God  required  to  "worship  the 
Saviour,  and  minister  to  the  heirs  of  salvation,"  if  the  Saviour 
was  impotent,  and  the  salvation  of  the  redeemed  either  imper- 


208  OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

feet  or  uncertain  ?  If  Christ  failed  in  the  purchase,  why  was 
"he  exalted  to  give  repentance  and  remission  of  sins?"  Acts 
V.  31,  for  surely,  he  that  is  able  to  do  this  must  be  able  to  save 
to  the  uttermost. 

In  the  great  day,  Christ  will  raise  up  all  given  him  by  the 
Father,  without  letting  any  be  lost  or  wanting,  John  vi.  39. 
Jude  ver.  24,  saying  to  his  Father,  "  Here  am  I,  and  the  chil- 
dren whom  thou  hast  given  me ;  a  glorious  church,  having  nei- 
ther spot  nor  wrinkle,  nor  any  such  thing,"  Heb.  ii.  13,  Eph.  v. 
27;  this  will  be  done  with  exceeding  joy,  both  on  the  part  of  the 
Father  who  chose  them,  the  Son  who  redeemed  them,  the  Holy 
Spirit  who  sanctified  them,  ministers  who  espoused  them  to 
Christ,  and  on  the  part  of  the  redeemed,  who  enjoy  this  glorious 
salvation.  Christ's  ability  to  save,  will  appear  in  the  clearest 
light  in  that  day,  when  "  he  shall  come  to  be  glorified  in  the 
saints,  and  admired  in  all  them  that  believe,"  1  Thess.  i.  20. 
If  we  believe  the  scripture  account  of  these  things,  there  will  be 
no  room  to  question  Christ's  power  to  "save.  Even  such  as 
make  light  of  it  now,  the  last  day  will  reveal  it,  "  when  Christ 
shall  appear  the  second  time,  without  sin  unto  salvation," 
Heb.  ix.  28,  all  sin  being  expelled  out  of  the  redeemed,  and  all 
sorrows  removed  from  them,  their  bodies  being  the  glorious 
mansions  of  more  glorious  souls,  all  the  saints  being  joined  to 
Christ,  that  infinitely  more  glorious  head,  good  angels  adoring 
the  Saviour,  and  admiring  the  salvation,  and  evil  angels  and 
men  lying  under  the  feet  of  his  vengeance,  filled  with  shame, 
horror,  and  eternal  confusion.  Now,  we  see  through  a  glass 
but  darkly,  but  then  the  Saviour  will  appear  in  all  the  glory  of 
his  saving  power. 

2.  Such  as  are  redeemed,  may  with  admiration  think  on  an 
all-aufficient  Redeemer,  being  appointed  to  undertake  their 
cause ;  for  herein  regard  was  had  to  man's  impotency  and  mise- 
ry. God  had  tried  the  strength  of  man:  when  Adam  was  in  the 
state  of  innocence  the  head  of  mankind,  and  the  trustee  of  their 
felicity,  he  soon  fell,  and  ruined  himself  and  his  posterity:  there- 
fore it  was  not  fit  to  intrust  our  happiness  in  such  a  hand  again, 
much  less  in  the  hand  of  a  sinful  creature.  God  saw  it  needful 
to  appoint  his  own  Son  to  be  our  Saviour;  he  well  knew  his 
wisdom,  power,  faithfulness  and  immutability,  his  love  to  his 
glory,  and  to  the  happiness  of  man :  he  laid  him  as  a  sure  foun- 
dation, a  tried  corner-stone,  able  to  bear  the  weight  of  the  whole 
building.  No  less  a  person  could  either  satisfy  for  sin,  or  turn 
a  soul  from  it,  raise  a  body  from  the  grave,  or  conduct  a  soul 
to  glory:  "no  man  can  redeem  his  brother,  or  give  to  God  a 
ransom  for  his  soul;"  nor  was  it  in  the  power  of  the  chosen 
seed  to  deliver  themselves  from  the  tyranny  of  Satan,  or  the 
miseries  of  the  present  state.  Such  a  Saviour  as  Christ  was 
therefore  necessary  for  us:  God  suited  the  remedy  to  the  dis- 


OF   PARTICULAR  REDEMPTION.  209 

ease;  the  strength  of  the  Saviour  to  the  weakness  and  misery  of 
the  sinner:  Such  an  High-pi-iest  became  us,\vn.s  fit  and  suita- 
ble for  us ;  impotent  and  miserable  sinners  stood  in  need  of  a 
strong  and  merciful  Saviour. 

God  would  have  his  chosen  not  barely  redeemed  from  hell, 
and  brought  to  heaven;  but  he  would  have  it  done  in  such  a 
way,  as  should  be  most  to  his  own  and  his  Son's  honour.  The 
apostle  speaks  of  salvation  in  Chi^ist,  with  eternal  glory^ 
2  Tim.  ii.  10,  not  barely  salvation,  but  a  glorious  salvation:  a 
salvation  which  shall  be  to  the  honour  of  him  that  contrived  it, 
of  him  that  purchased  it,  of  him  that  applied  it,  and  of  them 
who  enjoy  it.  Concerning  our  Saviour,  it  is  said,  "  his  glory  is 
great  in  thy  salvation;  honour  and  majesty  hast  thou  laid  upon 
him,"  Psal.  xxi.  5.  When  Christ  was  going  to  sutler,  he  there- 
fore put  up  such  a  prayer  as  this :  "  Father,  the  hour  is  come, 
glorify  thy  Son,  that  thy  Son  also  may  glorify  thee,"  John  xvii. 
1.  God  provided  a  mighty  Saviour,  who  was  able  to  retrieve 
the  honour  which  the  first  Adam  had  lost ;  he  came  short  of  the 
glory  of  God,  but  Christ  in  all  things  acted  to  his  own  and  his 
Father's  glory,  both  before  he  died,  and  since.  He  was  ushered 
into  the  world  with  the  songs  of  angels,  resounding,  "  Glory  to 
God  in  the  highest,"  Luke  ii.  14;  and  he  went  out  of  the  world 
into  a  state  of  heavenly  glory,  where  the  Father  and  Son  are 
continually  praised  for  this  wonderful  salvation  :  for  which  rea- 
son, among  others,  heaven  may  be  spoken  of  as  a  state  of  eter- 
nal glory. 

God  resolved  in  saving  men,  to  destroy  sin,  and  to  vanquish 
Satan.  This  was  a  work  too  great  to  have  been  accomplished 
by  any  other  than  one  who  is  almighty.  It  required  the  wisdom 
and  power  of  a  God  to  make  an  end  of  sin,  and  destroy  Satan ; 
to  turn  him  out  of  his  throne,  and  to  cast  his  infection  out  of  the 
soul.  Satan  was  strongly  fortified,  deeply  entrenched  in  the 
heart  of  man ;  he  was  a  vigilant  and  subtle  ruler,  and  not  easily 
expelled ;  he  batiled  Adam  in  his  state  of  integrity,  and  gained 
the  throne  when  he  had  no  friends  in  the  soul  beforehand ;  how 
then  should  a  fallen  creature  be  able  to  turn  him  out,  when  a 
holy  creature  could  not  keep  him  out  ?  how  could  human  power 
destroy  sin,  when  it  could  not  prevent  its  entrance  into  the  heart, 
and  its  infecting  our  whole  nature  ?  It  was  necessary  therefore, 
that  this  work  should  be  undertaken  by  one  who  was  infinite  in 
wisdom  and  power,  and  so  able  to  accomplish  it.  Christ  there- 
fore comes  forth,  "  walking  in  the  greatness  of  his  strength, 
mighty  to  save." 

God  exercised  his  infinite  love  to  his  chosen,  by  committing 
the  care  of  their  salvation  to  Christ.  He  well  knew  all  the  de- 
signs of  his  love  were  secured  by  this.  The  kindness  of  God 
appeared  in  this,  that  the  Saviour  whom  he  appointed,  was  no 
weak  one,  but  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost :  his  power,  grace, 

27 


210  OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

wisdom  and  merit  were  all  infinite;  and  therefore  poor  timorous 
Christians  may  safely  commit  tlieir  souls  to  him,  in  a  way  of 
reliance  without  being  afraid.  "  In  his  love  and  in  his  pity, 
God  sav.ed  his  people,  and  carried  them  all  the  days  of  old;" 
and  thus  he  deals  with  them,  at  all  times,  and  in  the  present 
time.  We  have  a  wonderful  instance  of  God's  love  to  his 
chosen,  in  his  giving  his  only  begotten  Son  for  them.  Salvation 
is  not  straitened  in  him;  the  divine  love  dilates  itself  in  unmea- 
surable  dimensions,  in  raising  up  for  us  such  a  horn  of  salvation 
as  Christ  is;  the  mighty  God  is  the  prince  of  peace.  A  Chris- 
tian can  be  in  no  distress,  which  the  mighty  Saviour  is  not  able 
to  free  him  from.  Every  believer  may  say,  in  the  highest  sense, 
as  Hezekiah  did  in  a  lower  case,  "  I  had  great  bitterness,  but 
thou  hast,  in  love  to  my  soul,  delivered  it  from  the  pit  of  cor- 
ruption, for  thou  hast  cast  all  my  sins  behind  thy  back."  Isa. 
xxxviii.  17.  In  Christ  the  mighty  Saviour,  all  the  kind  inten- 
tions of  divine  love  are  accomplished,  and  therefore  God  from 
the  beginning  chose  us  in  Christ,  that  we  should  be  "  without 
blame  before  him,  in  love."  Eph.  i.  4. 

3.  How  great  is  the  folh/  and  misery  of  all  those,  who  seek 
to  any  otiier  but  Christ  to  save  them?  All  the  herd  of  idolaters 
"  fly  to  a  refuge  of  lies,  and  pray  to  a  God  that  cannot  save 
them,"  Isa.  xlv.  20.  In  what  confusion  will  they  be,  who 
have  neglected  the  mighty  Saviour,  and  his  great  salvation, 
when  God  shall  say  to  them,  "  Where  are  your  gods  which  you 
have  made  you?  let  them  arise,  if  they  can  save  you,  in  the 
time  of  your  trouble,"  Jer.  ii.  28.  Some  say  to  the  works  of 
their  own  hands,  that  they  are  their  gods;  and  no  wonder,  if 
when  they  have  exalted  a  created  thing  into  a  god,  they  de- 
grade God  the  Saviour  into  a  creature:  they  see  no  need  of 
an  infinite  fund  of  power  or  merit  in  a  Saviour,  who  are  so 
full  in  themselves;  but  to  all  the  rout  of  pagan,  Romish,  and 
Arian  idolaters,  those  words  of  God  may  be  appUed,  "  Behold 
all  ye  that  kindle  a  fire,  that  compass  yourselves  about  with 
sparks,  walk  in  the  light  of  your  fire,  and  in  the  sparks  that 
ye  have  kindled ;  this  shall  ye  have  at  my  hand,  ye  shall  lie 
down  in  sorrow,"  Isa.  1.  11.  They  who  slight  the  mighty 
Saviour,  spoken  of  in  the  former  part  of  the  chapter,  and  set 
up  gods  and  saviours  of  their  own,  will  meet  with  eternal  sorrow 
and  anguish  in  the  end,  when  they  lie  down  in  the  grave,  and 
make  their  bed  in  hell.  How  will  it  rend  their  hearts  witli 
a  thousand  agonies,  when  they  shall  be  forced  to  say,  "The 
harvest  is  past,  the  summer  is  ended,  and  we  are  not  saved," 
Jer.  viii.  19,20,  the  reason  of  which  is  premised;  "they  have 
provoked  me  to  anger  with  their  graven  images,  with  strange 
vanities."  Is  not  this  the  case  of  such  as  set  up  a  saviour, 
who  is  neither  a  god  nor  a  creature,  as  well  as  of  those  who 
worship  images,  or  trust  to  their  own  good  works  to  save  them? 


OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  211 

4.  How  acceptable  should  the  Gospel  be,  both  to  them  that 
preach  it,  and  to  them  that  hear  it:  Every  minister  who  loves 
the  glory  of  God,  and  the  happiness  of  men,  may  be  very  glad 
that  he  has  such  a  message  to  bring  to  the  people  as  the  angel 
had,  when  he  said,  "  Fear  not,  for  behold  I  bring  you  good 
tidings  of  great  joy,  which  shall  be  to  all  people;  for  to  you  is 
born  this  day  a  Saviour,  which  is  Christ  the  Lord;"  Luke  ii. 
10,  11; — a  mighty  Saviour,  an  all-sufficient  Saviour,  who  is 
able  to  deliver  all  who  come  to  God  by  him,  from  sin  and 
Satan,  death  and  hell.  "  How  beautiful  should  the  feet  of 
those  be  that  publish  salvation,  and  say  to  Zion,  thy  God 
reigneth;"  Isa.  lii.  7.  We  have  lived  to  see  the  message  and 
messengers  treated  with  contempt.  What  Paul  says,  1  Tim. 
V.  15,  is  a  faithful  say  ins;,  and  ivorthy  of  all  acceptation, 
some  think  is  not  worth  their  hearing.  A  Saviour  who  pursues 
the  designs  of  distinguishing  unchangeable  love,  and  effectually 
saves  all  the  redeemed,  is  despised  and  rejected,  but  without 
reason,  and  at  the  peril  of  such  as  do  it;  for  the  despisers  must 
wonder  and  perish ;  but  the  voice  of  rejoicing  and  salvation  is 
in  the  tabernacles  of  the  righteous;  because  the  right  hand  of 
the  Lord  doth  valiantly:"  when  ministers  are  clothed  with 
salvation,  the  saints  should  shout  aloud  for  joy. 

5.  Has  Christ  rendered  certain  the  salvation  of  his  people; 
what  pleasure  and  delight  may  they  take  in  him!  Whatever 
troubles  they  have  in  the  world,  Christ  says  to  them,  "  Be  of 
good  cheer,  I  have  overcome  the  world,"  John  xvi.  33.  Have 
we  strong  enemies  to  fight  against  us?  we  have  a  stronger  Sa- 
viour to  fight  for  us;  Satan  and  the  world  are  conquered  ene- 
mies, and  the  weakest  believer  shall  come  off  "  more  than  a 
conqueror,  through  him  that  loved  him,"  Rom.  viii.  37.  Doth 
our  heinous  guilt  cry  strongly  against  us  for  condemnation? 
the  Christian  should  comfort  himself  in  this,  that  the  blood  of 
Christ  cries  louder  in  the  ears  of  God  for  pardon  and  forgive- 
ness. A  believer  has  abundant  reason  to  rejoice  in  God  his 
Saviour,  not  only  because  there  is  no  other,  but  also  because 
there  is  nothing  wanting  in  him.  In  him  there  is  wisdom  for 
the  weak,  righteousness  for  the  soul  that  is  ashamed  of  its  own 
nakedness,  sanctificatlon  for  the  polluted,  and  redemption  for 
those  who  are  waiting  for  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of 
God.  With  what  delight  then  may  the  believer  sit  under  the 
shadow,  and  how  sweet  may  the  fruits  of  this  mighty  Saviour 
be  unto  him! 

With  what  joy  might  we  draw  water  out  of  the  wells  of  sal- 
vation ;  what  comfort  might  we  receive  from  the  mighty  Sa- 
viour, could  we  but  live  upon  him  by  faith !  When  the  roaring 
lion  utters  his  voice,  when  the  world  rages,  when  within  are 
fears,  and  without  are  fightings,  yet  what  rest  and  peace  might 
we  have  in  Christ,  could  we  but  know  whom  we  have  believed, 


212  OF   PARTICULAR  REDEMPTION. 

and  be  "  persuaded  that  he  is  able  to  keep  what  we  have  com- 
mitted to  his  trust,  against  the  great  day!"  2  Tim.  i.  12,  Ciirist 
wants  no  power  or  will  to  secure  the  souls  and  the  salvation  of 
such  as  by  faith  commit  themselves  to  him;  he  is  the  consola- 
tion of  Israel,  Luke  ii.  25,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  comforter 
of  the  faithful:  he  takes  of  the  things  of  Christ,  and  comforts 
the  Christian  with  them. 

When  the  poor  Christian  is  ready  to  sink  under  the  burden 
of  the  body  of  sin,  he  may  take  comfort  in  that  deliverance 
from  it,  which  he  shall  shortly  receive  from  the  hand  of  Christ. 
Wlien  the  weak  believer  is  dismayed  with  fears,  lest  the  ene- 
mies of  his  salvation  should  overcome  and  ruin  him;  this  may 
quiet  him,  that  all  the  powers  of  darkness  shall  never  be  able 
to  pluck  one  lamb  out  of  Christ's  bosom,  nor  the  most  feeble 
sheep  out  of  his  almighty  hand,  John  x.  28. 

When  fear  and  horror  shall  seize  all  the  Christless  world,  at 
Christ's  second  coming,  the  faithful  shall  lift  up  their  heads 
with  joy,  because  their  mighty  Redeemer  then  comes  to  com- 
plete their  salvation.  In  the  mean  time,  the  Christian  may  take 
comfort  in  this,  that  though  there  are  many  changes  and  disap- 
pointments in  the  world,  yet  Christ  is  ever  the  same ;  and  may 
say,  blessed  be  God,  for  blessing  me  with  all  spiritual  blessings 
in  Christ,  that  in  him  the  heirs  of  promise  might  have  strong 
consolation.  All  things  in  this  world  will  shortly  fail  us,  or 
we  must  leave  them;  but  here  is  the  comfort  to  the  Christian, 
that  his  Redeemer  lives:  though  the  heavens  and  earth  shall 
perish,  yet  Christ  is  the  same ;  the  same  in  power,  merit,  wis- 
dom, grace,  and  glory;  and  these  shall  have  no  end,  no  change. 
We  have  no  reason  to  call  in  question  the  compassion  of 
Christ's  heart,  or  the  power  of  his  hands :  that  is  a  most  com- 
fortable promise  concerning  Christ,  which  is  in  Micah's  pro- 
phecy; "  He  shall  stand  and  feed  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord, 
in  the  majesty  of  the  name  of  the  Lord  his  God:  and  they 
shall  abide;  for  now  shall  he  be  great  to  the  ends  of  the  earth," 
Micah  V.  4.  In  Christ  there  is  infinite  everlasting  strength  to 
overcome  all  his  people's  enemies,  to  remove  all  their  dilHcul- 
ties,  and  supply  all  their  wants;  the  redeemed  people  therefore 
shall  abide,  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  them ;  for 
their  Saviour  is  great,  and  shall  be  so  to  the  ends  of  the  earth; 
he  shall  have  a  growing  and  a  lasting  kingdom. 

Let  us  then,  v/hen  dejections  and  fears  prevail,  fix  our 
thoughts  upon  such  scriptures  as  set  forth  the  power  and 
grace  of  Christ;  of  which  this  is  one:  "  The  Lord  thy  God  in 
the  midst  of  thee  is  mighty,  he  will  save,  he  will  rejoice  over 
thee  with  joy,  he  will  rest  in  his  love,"  Zeph.  iii.  17.  If  there 
be  no  loveliness  in  us,  yet  he  will  take  satisfaction  in  showing 
love  to  us,  in  saving  his  poor  distressed  people:  his  love  is  not 
confined  within  such  narrow  limits  as  ours,  nor  does  he  want 


OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  213 

wisdom  or  power  to  enable  him  to  do  whatever  his  love  in- 
clines him  to  do  for  our  good. 

6.  What  reason  have  believers  to  cast  all  their  care  upon 
Christ,  depending  upon  his  ability  to  save  them!  Every  true 
Christian  may  say,  if  Christ's  blood  is  not  sufficient  to  cleanse 
away  my  guilt,  or  his  wisdom  and  power  great  enough  to  chase 
away  mine  enemies,  or  his  love  strong  enough  to  do  both  for 
me,  then  I  am  content  to  perish;  but  I  know  he  can,  and  he 
will  keep  what  I  have  committed  to  his  trust:  I  have  reason  to 
trust  him;  our  fathers  did  it,  and  they  were  delivered:  I  am 
directed  to  cast  my  burden  upon  him,  and  he  has  promised  to 
sustain  me;  "Trust  in  the  Lord  for  ever,"  says  the  prophet, 
Isa.  xxvi.  4,  and  he  gave  a  good  reason  for  it;  "  for  in  the  Lord 
Jehovah  there  is  everlasting  strength." 

In  our  passage  through  this  world  to  the  heavenly  Canaan, 
the  church  is  represented  "  as  going  up,  leaning  upon  her 
beloved,"  Cant.  viii.  5.  Here  is  our  rest,  here  is  our  safety; 
our  strength  consists  in  our  dependence  upon  the  strong  and 
mighty  Saviour;  "we  are  strong  in  the  Lord,  and  in  the  power 
of  his  might."  Let  us  then  make  this  use  of  Christ's  strength, 
ability  to  save,  even  to  trust  in  him,  resigning  ourselves  to  him, 
and  depending  upon  him;  to  do  in  us,  with  us,  and  for  us  what 
ever  may  be  for  his  glory  and  our  salvation.  Paul  in  his  con- 
flict fled  to  Christ,  and  found  present  help :  he  said  to  him,  "  My 
grace  is  sufficient  for  thee,  my  strength  is  made  perfect  in  weak- 
ness," 2  Cor,  xii.  9.  The  less  strength  the  Christian  has,  the 
more  Christ  will  exert  his  power. 

7.  How  inexcusable  will  unbelievers  be  another  day !  Christ 
is  a  most  suitable  engaging  object  of  faith:  what  is  there  in  him 
to  create  a  distrust?  what  is  there  not  in  him  that  may  encourage 
a  dependence?  He  has  all  the  qualifications  necessary  to  enable 
him  to  save  his  friends,  and  destroy  their  enemies;  there  is  no 
want  of  wisdom,  grace,  merit,  or  power  in  him;  he  is  most 
inviolably  faithful  in  his  engagements,  and  in  all  his  declara- 
tions. There  is,  therefore,  good  reason  to  believe  the  scripture 
account  of  him,  to  rest  and  rely  by  faith  upon  him;  and  they 
who  refuse  to  do  it,  where  the  gospel  comes,  will  aggravate 
their  condemnation  thereby.  It  is  true,  they  could  not  believe 
of  themselves;  but  it  is  as  true,  that  they  of  themselves  put  forth 
positive  acts  of  distrust  of  Christ,  think  him  to  be  false,  and 
reckon  salvation  a  fiction. 

8.  How  dear  and  precious  should  Christ  be  to  all  Christians ! 
He  has  done  great  things  for  us,  he  is  doing  great  things  for  us, 
and  he  will  yet  do  greater  things  for  us.  How  should  we 
endeavour  to  exalt  him,  to  magnify  him,  both  in  life  and  death. 
The  mighty  Saviour  can  never  be  too  highly  esteemed,  or  too 
highly  extolled  by  us.  God  has  said,  he  shall  be  exalted,  and 
be  very  high:  let  us  then  grow  in  our  esteem  of  himj  he  is  fairer 


214  OF    PARTICrLAR   REDEMPTION. 

than  the  sons  of  men.  The  Saviour  and  his  salvation  Avill 
appear  glorious  when  all  the  glory  of  the  world  will  be  turned 
into  darkness  and  horror;  and  when  Christ  appears,  the  saints 
shall  appear  with  him  in  glory:  this  thought  should  raise  our 
affections,  and  inflame  our  love  to  Christ.  Every  redeemed 
soul  should  say,  "  My  soul  magnifies  the  Lord,  and  my  spirit 
rejoices  in  God  my  Saviour:  he  is  my  Lord,  and  I  will  exalt 
him;  he  is  the  chiefest  often  thousand,  and  altogether  lovely:" 
he  fulfils  the  Father's  decrees,  glorifies  all  the  divine  perfec- 
tions, destroys  all  God's  implacable  enemies,  and  brings  all  the 
chosen  seed  to  glory;  not  one  shall  be  wanting,  nor  the  least 
spot  or  imperfection  shall  be  found  in  any  of  them.  How  glo- 
rious is  Christ  in  this  appearance;  the  object  of  the  Father's 
love,  and  therefore  he  deserves  ours.  Let  us  love  the  Lord 
then,  let  him  be  very  dear  to  our  souls,  who  is  thus  "  glorious  in 
his  apparel,  walking  in  the  greatness  of  his  strength,  mighty  to 
save." 

9.  We  may  learn  what  a  gloynous  church  the  great  Saviour 
will  have,  when  all  the  saints  are  gathered  together  in  one.  The 
general  assembly  and  church  of  the  first-born  will  make  no 
mean  appearance  in  the  great  day.  If  three  thousand  were 
added  to  the  church  in  one  day,  and  multitudes  soon  after,  what 
a  vast  congregation  will  all  the  saved  make,  when  they  meet 
together  at  Christ's  right  hand !  It  will  then  be  seen  that  he 
did  not  labour  in  vain,  and  die  for  nought:  the  redeemed  will 
appear  to  be  a  "  number,  that  no  man  can  number,  out  of  all 
tongues,  kindreds,  and  nations;"  which  will  be  a  full  evidence, 
that  our  Redeemer  has  not  left  the  salvation  of  his  people 
uncertain. 

10.  What  reason  have  all  the  redeemed  to  admire  and  honour 
the  sovereign  savmg  grace  of  God  and  Christ!  Peter  said  thus 
to  the  Christians  to  whom  he  wrote,  "  Ye  are  a  chosen  nation, 
a  peculiar  people,  that  ye  should  show  forth  his  praise,  who 
hath  called  you  out  of  darkness  into  his  marvellous  light," 
1  Pet.  ii.  9.  A  Christian  may  say,  How  is  it.  Lord,  that  thou 
shouldest  love  and  redeem  me,  give  thyself  ibr  me,  and  then 
reveal  thyself  to  me,  pour  out  thy  blood  upon  the  cross,  and 
pour  out  thy  Spirit  into  the  heart  of  such  a  worthless  worm  as 
I?  Lord,  why  did  not  I  as  well  as  others,  receive  the  just 
wages  of  my  sins?  why  did  my  Saviour  pay  my  debt,  when  so 
many  others,  fallen  angels  and  men,  must  be  paying  theirs  for 
ever?  0  glorious,  sovereign,  distinguishing  grace!  not  to  me, 
not  to  me,  but  to  thy  name  be  all  the  glory:  peculiar  love  calls 
for  special  thankfulness.  I  thank  thee,  0  Father,  Lord  of 
heaven  and  earth,  that  whilst  this  salvation  is  hid  from  others, 
it  is  revealed  to  me;  and  that  I  have  been  enabled  to  receive 
the  atonement,  and  to  joy  in  thee  through  Jesus  Christ  my 
Lord.    This  is  a  thank- ottering  which  becomes  all  the  redeemed. 


OF   PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION.  215 

but  it  will  be  done  infinitely  better,  when  the  saints  come  to 
sing  the  song  of  the  Lamb  in  the  New  Jerusalem,  according  to 
this  model  of  it:  "Thou  art  worthy,  for  thou  wast  slain,  and 
hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy  blood,  out  of  every  kindred, 
tongue,  people,  and  nation,"  Rev.  v.  9.  Those  who  stand  with 
Christ  upon  "  mount  Sion,  having  his  Father's  name  written 
on  their  foreheads,"  Rev.  xiv.  1.  5,  who  are  redeemed  from  the 
earth,  should  often  sing  that  song,  which  none  but  they  can 
learn,  '•'  who  are  the  redeemed  from  among  men,  and  are  the 
first-fruits  to  God,  and  to  the  Lamb."  But  not  only  good 
words  and  good  affections  are  to  be  given  to  their  God  and 
Saviour,  but  the  redeemed  peculiar  people  ought  to  be  zealous 
of  good  works.  Those  who  are  bought  with  such  an  invaluable 
price  as  Christ's  blood,  ought  to  glorify  him  in  their  bodies  and 
spirits:  his  love,  as  well  as  his  authority  and  right,  should  "con- 
strain us  not  to  live  to  ourselves,  but  to  him  that  died  for  us, 
and  rose  again," 

11.  What  encouragement  is  there  for  us  to  wait  for  salvatio7i 
by  Christ,  to  lie  at  his  feet,  and  hope  in  his  mercy  ?  The  saved 
are  a  numberless  number,  sinners  of  all  ages,  sizes,  and  circum- 
stances: the  Saviour  set  forth  in  the  gospel,  is  able  to  save  to 
the  uttermost  all  luho  come  to  God  by  him.  Those  who  are 
left  to  their  own  wills  perish;  God  works  a  work  which  they 
in  no  wise  believe:  they  will  not  come  to  Christ  that  they  may 
have  life;  but  those  committed  to  the  care  of  Christ  shall  come; 
he  makes  them  willing  in  the  day  of  his  power,  by  his  word 
and  Spirit,  and  the  pastoral  rod  of  his  strength.  It  is  good  then 
to  wait  at  wisdom's  gates ;  for  such  as  Jind  Christ,  find  life. 
There  is  encouragement  to  hope  for  mercy,  if  we  wait  for  it,  in 
the  way  which  Christ  has  prescribed:  he  has  said,  "  Seek,  and 
ye  shall  find;  search  the  Scriptures,  they  testify  of  me;  come 
to  me  all  ye  that  are  weary,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  The 
Psalmist  uses  an  argument  which  is  grown  much  stronger  since 
his  time:  "our  fathers  trusted  in  thee,  and  they  were  deliver- 
ed," Psal.  xxii.  4.  We  may  say  not  only  the  patriarchs  and 
prophets,  but  the  apostles,  the  primitive  church,  and  multitudes 
down  to  this  present  time,  have  trusted  in  Christ,  and  have  been 
saved  by  him;  therefore  "  it  is  good  for  us  to  wait  and  hope  for 
the  salvation  of  the  Lord."  It  is  our  business  to  prove  our 
election  and  redemption  by  our  effectual  calling.  If  we  believe, 
we  shall  be  saved;  if  we  never  do,  then  there  is  no  salvation  for 
us.  It  is  a  great  encouragement  that  there  is  a  Saviour,  infinite 
in  grace  and  merit,  who  will  give  the  water  of  life  freely,  to 
every  one  that  thirsts;  and  we  have  as  fair  an  opportunity  as 
thousands  before  us,  who  ventured  their  souls  on  Christ,  and 
were  kindly  received  by  him. 

12.  Let  us  not  sink  under  the  greatest  discouragements 
which  we  meet  with  in  the  course  of  providence.     Valuable 


216  OF    PARTICULAR   REDEMPTION. 

and  useful  instruments  are  taken  away,  or  laid  aside :  faithful 
and  able  ministers  die;  but  Christ  lives  still;  and  blessed  be  the 
Rock  of  our  salvation.  Christ  is  mighty  to  save;  and  with  him 
is  the  residue  of  the  Spirit :  it  is  he  that  made  those  who  are 
gone  what  they  were;  and  he  can  give  the  same  Spirit  and 
gifts  to  others,  or  work  the  same  effects,  by  less  able  and  likely 
means.  We  should  then  cry  to  the  Lord  God  of  Elijah,  to  pour 
out  more  of  his  Spirit  on  his  ministers  and  people,  that  salva- 
tion work  may  be  carried  on,  not  by  human  might  and  power, 
but  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord.  Christ  has  promised  to  be  with 
his  ministers  and  people  to  the  end  of  the  world,  if  they  teach 
and  do  what  he  has  commanded,  Mat.  xxviii.  20.  Let  us  then, 
in  his  own  way,  depend  upon  his  promise,  and  wait  for  his 
blessing,  who  "  walks  in  the  greatness  of  his  strength,  and  is 
mighty  to  save;  who  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem 
us  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  us  to  himself  a  peculiar  people, 
zealous  of  good  works." 

Now  to  him  that  is  able  to  keep  us  from  falling,  and  to 
present  us  faultless  before  the  presence  of  his  glory,  to  our 
exceeding  joy;  to  the  only  wise  God,  our  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,  be  glory  and  majesty,  dominion  and  power,  both 
now  and  for  ever.    Amen. 


THE  DOCTRINE 


CHRIST'S    SUFFERINGS    OPENED: 

IN   THREE   SERMONS. 

By  MR.  THOMAS  BRADBURY, 

MINISTER  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

SERMON  I. 

Romans  viii.  32. — He  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for  us  all. 

These  words  bear  a  full  proportion  to  the  design  for  which  I 
have  taken  them;  that  is,  they  show  us  the  sufferings  of 
Christ,  in  their  reality,  and  their  imputation:  that  Messiah 
the  Prince  is  come,  that  he  was  cut  off,  but  not  for  himself, 
Dan.  ix.  26;  that  he  suffered,  the  just  for  the  unjust,  to  bring 
us  to  God,  1  Pet.  iii.  18;  he  finished  transgression,  made  an 
end  of  sin;  he  put  it  aioay,  by  the  offering  of  himself;  he 
made  reconciliation  for  iniquity,  and  brought  in  an  everlast- 
ing righteousness.  Dan.  ix.  24. 

As  the  doctrine  of  the  cross  is  the  glory  of  our  religion,  it  is 
the  foundation  of  all  our  hope:  the  apostle  brings  it  in  with  a 
connexion,  for,  saith  he  in  the  former  verse,  "  If  God  be  for 
us,  who  can  be  against  us?"  The  consequent  is  inseparable, 
the  argument  invincible,  and  therefore  his  care  is  to  let  it  be 
seen  that  the  antecedent  is  true;  to  which  purpose  he  offers  the 
text  in  evidence :  "  He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  gave 
him  up  for  us  all ;  how  shall  he  not  with  him  freely  give  us  all 
things?" 

He  had  before  observed,  "  That  all  things  shall  work  together 
for  our  good,"  Rom.  viii.  28,  and  now  that  all  things  shall  be 
given  ill  as  our  property.  According  to  what  he  says  in  an- 
other place,  "All  things  are  yours;  whether  Paul  or  Apollos,  or 
Cephas,  life  or  death,  things  present,  or  things  to  come,  all  is 
yours,"  1  Cor.  iii.  22.  The  promise  takes  a  large  compass;  as 
to  the  matter  of  our  enjoyment,  it  reaches  to  all  things;  as  to 
the  way  of  it,  it  is  given  freely;  he  does  it  liberally,  and  up- 
hraideth  not,  James  i.  5;  so  that  we  are  not  straitened  in  God, 
either  as  to  the  work  of  his  hand,  or  the  design  of  his  heart. 
As  he  is  a  "sun  and  shield,  as  he  gives  grace  and  glory,  so 

28  217 


218  OF  Christ's  sufferings. 

he  withholds  no  good  thing  from  those  that  walk  uprightly," 
Psal.  Ixxxiv.  11. 

And  we  are  assured  of  what  he  ivill  do,  by  what  he  has 
done.  If  there  is  any  thing  that  he  would  have  grudged,  or 
held  back,  it  must  have  been  the  very  mercy  that  he  has  be- 
stowed already:  but  it  is  doing  as  much  as  can  be,  to  give  us 
his  oum  Son;  and  it  is  impossible  that  any  future  grant  should 
go  higher;  we  may  look  upon  what  is  past  as  a  pledge  of  what 
is  to  come. 

The  doctrine  of  the  text  is,  "  That  God  spared  not  his  own 
Son,  but  gave  him  up  for  us  all ;"  and  the  application  we  are 
allowed  to  make  of  it  is  as  great  and  happy,  as  the  truth  itself 
dear  and  certain,  that  "  he  will  with  him  freely  give  us  all 
things." 

It  is  the  former  of  these  that  I  would  now  consider;  and 
cannot  think  upon  any  better  way  of  doing  it  for  expedition 
and  plainness,  than  by  making  the  parts  of  the  text  to  be  the 
plan  of  the  sermon. 

You  find  the  apostle  is  speaking  of  the  most  high  God,  that 
he  is  for  us :  as  David  says,  "  The  Lord  is  on  my  side,  I  will 
not  fear  what  man  can  do  unto  me,"  Psal.  cxviii.  6;  it  is  the 
argument  that  Christ  himself  has  used,  "The  Lord  God  will 
help  me,  therefore  I  shall  not  be  confounded:  he  is  near  that 
justifies  me:  who  is  he  that  will  condemn  me?"  Isa.  1..  S,  9. 
And  thus  the  apostle  concludes,  that  it  signifies  very  little  who 
is  against  us,  seeing  God  is  for  us.  Now,  this  he  proves,  from 
what  he  has  done  already. 

1.  He  appointed  his  oivn  So7i  to  be  the  trustee,  the  security, 
the  price  and  assurance  of  our  salvation. 

2.  This  he  did  to  that  extremity,  as  7iof  io  spare  him  from 
any  torments  that  human  nature  was  able  to  endure. 

3.  To  all  these  sufferings  there  was  a  divine  order:  he  deliV' 
ered  him  up. 

4.  This  was  for  us  all,  in  our  room  and  stead;  he  was  pun- 
ished, that  we  might  have  a  way  to  escape;  and  therefore  he 
might  say  to  divine  justice,  as  he  did  to  those  that  apprehended 
him,  "  If  ye  seek  me,  let  those  go  their  way."  John  xviii.  8. 

These  are  the  plain  and  easy  contents  of  the  words,  and  they 
amount  to  this  proposition,  that 

"All  the  troubles  that  Christ  endured  were,  by  a  divine 
appointment,  in  the  room  of  his  people." 

The  blow  which  they  deserved,  fell  upon  him:  it  was  thus 
ordained,  it  was  thus  received.  "  He  was  wounded  for  our 
transgressions:  he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities;  the  chastise- 
ment of  our  peace  was  upon  him,  and  by  his  stripes  we  are 
healed."  Isa.  liii.  5.  What  manner  of  love  is  this;  to  give  us 
so  great  a  Person,  as  God's  own  Son?  To  do  it  in  so  dear  a 
way,  as  not  to  spare  him;  and  that  with  so  kind  a  view,  that 


OF  Christ's  sufferings.  219 

it  should  not  only  be  to  us,  but  for  us:  these  are  things  that 
deserve  to  be  taken  apart. 

I.  I  begin  with  the  dignity  of  the  gift,  the  thing,  the  Person 
that  God  bestowed,  and  that  was  his  own  Son.  He  is  so  called, 
1.  By  way  of  distinction  from  others.  2.  By  way  of  eminence 
in  himself. 

\st.  It  is  a  distinguishing  title;  you  vvill  find  the  name  scat- 
tered abroad,  as  the  whole  family,  both  in  heaven  and  earth, 
are  called  after  him. 

(I.)  By  creation  we  are  all  the  children  of  God:  "  He  has 
made  us,  and  not  we  ourselves:  we  are  the  work  of  his  hands, 
and  the  sheep  of  his  pasture,"  Psal.  c.  3.  There  is  "  one  God 
our  Father,  of  whom  are  all  things,  and  we  of  him,"  1  Cor.  viii. 
6.  Tins  is  the  doctrine  of  nature;  the  apostle  spoke  of  it  with 
an  approbation  at  Athens,  "  as  one  of  your  own  poets  have  said, 
We  are  his  offspring,"  Acts  xvii.  28. 

(2.)  Angels  possess,  the  name  with  a  dignity  above  us,  as  they 
had  an  existence  before  us;  for  when  he  laid  out  the  partition 
between  the  earth  and  water,  when  he  set  a  compass  upon  the 
face  of  the  deep,  "  the  morning  stars  sang  together,  and  all  the 
sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy."  Job  xxxviii.  7. 

(3.)  He  has  sometimes  bestowed  the  name  upon  magistratesy 
principalities,  and  powers:  "I  have  said  ye  are  gods,  and  all 
of  you  children  of  the  Most  High,"  Psal.  Ixxxii.  6,  but  very 
often  we  find,  among  the  basest  of  men,  Dan.  iv.  17,  those  whom 
he  sets  over  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth,  where  it  cannot  signify 
any  thing  that  is  either  great  or  good. 

(4.)  He  gave  the  title  to  the  Jews,  and  did  it  by  way  of  dis- 
tinction :  thus  he  directs  Moses  to  tell  Pharaoh ;  "  Israel  is  my 
son,  and  my  first-born  ;  let  my  son  go  that  he  may  serve  me :" 
thus  he  upbraids  them,  when  they  proved  a  "foolish  people,  and 
unwise,  and  very  ill  requited  the  Lord,  who  was  their  Father 
that  had  bought  them,"  Deut.  xxxii.  6,  that  is,  he  had  made  and 
established  them.  It  is  in  these  terms  he  proclaims  their  return; 
*'  I  am  a  Father  to  Israel,  and  Ephraim  is  my  first-born,"  Jer. 
xxxi.  9.  Nor  was  this  a  new  thing  in  the  earth;  for  ^efore  the 
flood  he  was  pleased,  in  that  very  way,  to  separate  one  part 
of  the  world  from  the  other :  as  we  are  told,  The  sons  of  God, 
the  race  that  called  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord,  saw  the  daugh- 
ters of  me)),  by  which  they  defied  their  separation,  Gen.  vi.  2. 

(5.)  He  has  children  by  sa;7c/i^c«Y/o«;  "to  them  he  gives 
power  or  authority  to  become  the  sons  of  God;  being  born  not 
of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but 
of  God,"  John  i.  12,  13.  These  are  renewed  in  the  i?nage  of 
him,  who  created  them:  he  is  a  witness  to  the  work  of  which  he 
is  the  author,  that  they  are  "  children  and  lieirs  of  God,"  Rom. 
viii.  16,  17.  With  this  principle  he  tries  them,  and  by  that  he 
owns  them,  saying,  "  Touch  no  unclean  thing,  and  I  will  be  a 


220  OF  Christ's  sufferings. 

Father  to  you,  and  ye  shall  be  my  sons  and  daughters,  saith  the 
Lord  God  Almighty,"  2  Cor.  vi.  17,  18. 

(6)  He  bestows  the  title  upon  them  by  way  of  adoption.  "  In 
the  place  where  it  was  said  to  them,  ye  are  not  my  people,  there 
they  shall  be  called  the  children  of  the  living  God,"  Hos.  i.  10. 
Rom.  ix.  25,  26.  "  We  are  predestinated  to  the  adoption  of  sons 
by  Jesus  Christ;  and  the  spirit  of  adoption  in  our  hearts  is  to 
make  us  cry,  Abba,  Father,"  Eph,  i.  5,  Rom.  viii.  15. 

(7.)  With  this  name  they  are  carried  up  to  heaven:  He  brings 
"many  sons  to  glory,"  Heb.  ii.  10.  Upon  this  head,  "  Christ 
and  the  Father  are  one,"  John  x.  30,  they  both  speak  the  same 
language.  It  is  proclaimed  upon  the  saints'  arrival  there,  "  he 
that  overcomes  shall  inherit  all  things;  and  I  will  be  a  God  to 
him,  and  he  shall  be  my  son,"  Rev.  xxi.  7.  Thus  he  speaks  of 
the  whole  number,  "  Behold,  here  am  I,  and  the  children  whom 
God  has  given  me,"  Heb.  ii.  13. 

With  this  variety  is  the  name  diffused  and  distributed  quite 
through  the  Bible :  but  there  is  never  any  danger  of  misapply- 
ing it;  for  the  term,  his  own  Son,  is  plainly  distinguished  from 
every  one  of  them;  that  belongs  to  none  but  Christ:  He  has, 
indeed,  a  name  above  every  name;  and  though  the  word  may 
be  given  about  at  large,  yet  there  is  a  sense  in  it  peculiar  to 
him;  he  has  it  all  to  himself.  "  Of  his  own  will  he  begat  us  by 
the  word  of  truth,"  James  i.  IS,  and  yet  he  is  "the  only  begot- 
ten of  the  Father,"  John  i.  18:  though  he  brings  many  sons  to 
glory,  yet,  as  we  are  told  in  the  parable,  he  has  only  one  Son, 
and  his  well  beloved. 

2dly.  When  God  calls  him  his  oivn  Son,  it  is  by  way  of  emi- 
nence. This  was  the  Father's  decree,  this  was  our  Lord's  de- 
claration, that  he  said  unto  him,  "Thou  art  my  Son,"  Psal.  ii.  7. 
And  the  apostle  looks  upon  it  as  a  title  that  reaches  above  every 
creature ;  for  "  to  which  of  the  angels  said  he  at  any  time,  thou 
art  my  Son;  this  day  have  I  begotten  thee?"  Heb.  i.  5.  It  sig- 
nifies that  in  him,  which  it  never  did,  and  never  can  do,  in  any 
other;  and  you  may  take  it  to  be  comprehensive  of  these  four 
things;  1.  Equality  of  nature.  2.  Perpetuity  of  delight.  3.  Unity 
of  counsel.     4.  Communion  of  glory. 

1.  The  term,  his  own  Son,Q,dA\  import  no  less  than  an  equal- 
ity in  nature.  It  does  so  every  where:  "All  nations  of  men 
are  of  one  blood,"  Acts  xvii.  26.  "  Adam  begat  a  son  in  his  own 
image,  and  his  own  likeness,"  Gen.  v.  3,  altogether  such  a  one 
as  himself.  Nature  is  the  same  in  a  child,  as  it  is  in  the  fulness 
of  stature;  the  measure  of  a  perfect  man  in  a  beggar  and  a 
prince,  in  a  fool  and  a  philosopher,  in  sickness  or  in  health.  It 
is  for  this  reason  that  Christ  is  so  often  called  "the  Son  of  man;" 
he  seems  to  use  it  with  pleasure  and  frequency,  that  Ave  may 
understand  by  it,  that  he  was  really,  as  we  are,  "  made  of  a  wo- 
iiian,"  Gal.  iv.  4,  and  in  all  things  "like  unto  his  brethren:  for- 


OF  Christ's  sufferings.  221 

asmuch  as  the  children  are  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  he  him- 
self likewise  took  part  of  the  same,"  Heb.  ii.  14,  17. 

And  if  being  called  the  Son  of  man  does  prove  the  human 
nature,  the  Son  of  God  must  of  necessity  signify  in  him  the  di- 
vine. The  derivation  of  a  son  from  a  father,  makes  a  precedence 
and  dependence,  according  to  the  train  that  God  has  laid  before 
us,  but  still  it  leaves  the  nature  the  same  in  both:  but  as  all  de- 
rivation is  to  be  thrown  out  when  we  speak  of  God,  so  the  title 
belongs  to  none  but  "  him,  who  is  before  all  things,  and  by 
whom  all  things  consist,"  Col.  i.  17.  Nor  has  Christ  a  claim 
to  it,  but  upon  the  same  perfections  with  the  Father ;  that  he  is 
"  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  first  and  the  last,  the  beginning  and  the 
end,"  Rev.  i.  8,  and  therefore  though  he  is  a  Son,  yet  the  name 
whereby  he  shall  be  called,  is  "the  mighty  God,  the  everlasting 
Father,"  Isa.  ix.  6.  The  words  are  used  in  a  promiscuous  lan- 
guage, as  meaning  the  same  thing:  "  We  know  that  the  Son  of 
God  is  come,  and  has  given  us  an  understandhig  that  we  may 
know  him  that  is  true ;  and  we  are  in  him  that  is  true,  even  in  his 
Son  Jesus  Christ ;  this  is  the  true  God,  and  eternal  life,''  1  John 
V.  20. 

The  Jews  would  never  have  been  offended,  had  he  taken  the 
title  with  those  limitations,  that  several  in  our  day  have  put 
upon  it:  "But  they  sought  to  kill  him,  because  he  said  that 
God  was  his  Father,  making  himself  equal  with  God,"  John  v. 
18.  He  said  that  God  loas  his  own  Father;  and  he  says  not 
one  word  to  show  them  that  they  had  mistaken  him.  He  leaves 
them  possessed  of  their  notion,  as  a  very  right  one,  that  the 
Son  of  God  was  equal  with  God:  they  knew  his  words  import- 
ed this  much,  "I  and  my  Father  are  one-,"  upon  which  they 
aver,  "  For  a  good  work  we  stone  thee  not,  but  for  blasphemy ; 
because  that  thou  being  a  man,  makest  thyself  God,"  John  x. 
30,  33,  37,  38,  though  he  never  said  any  more  than  that  he  was 
the  Son  of  God :  and,  as  a  proof  of  that,  he  appeals  to  the  ivorks 
of  his  Father.  They  are  so  called,  not  merely  because  the  Fa- 
ther had  given  him  them  to  do,  but  as  they  were  works  which 
none  beside  the  Father  could  do,  such  as  required  an  almighty 
arm;  "the  Father  that  is  in  me,  he  does  the  works;  and  I  do 
them,  that  ye  may  believe  that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the  Fa- 
ther in  me.'' 

2.  This  title,  his  oiun  Son,  signifies  a  perpetuity  of  love: 
thus  he  speaks  in  the  name  of  wisdom,  (as  being  the  wisdom  of 
God,  and  the  power  of  God,  1  Cor.  i.  24.)  "  The  Lord  possessed 
me  in  the  beginning  of  his  way,  before  his  works  of  old :  I  was 
set  up  from  everlasting,  from  the  beginning,  or  ever  the  earth 
was ;  then  was  I  by  him,  as  one  brought  up  with  him,  daily  his 
delight,  and  rejoicing  always  before  him."  Pro  v.  viii.  22, 23, 24, 
&c.  He  speaks  very  often  concerning  an  unity  of  nature,  and 
yet  with  a  plain  distinction  of  persons. 


222  OF  Christ's  sufferings. 

He  is  called  the  only  begotten,  who  lies  in  the  bosom  of  the 
leather,  John  i,  18.  This  was  the  witness  given  to  him;  he 
had  it  at  his  baptism  in  a  voice  from  heaven;  "This  is  my  be- 
loved Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased,"  Mat.  iii.  17.  It  was 
repeated  in  the  "  holy  mount,  when  the  voice  came  again  from 
the  excellent  glory,"  2  Pet.  i.  17,  IS,  as  if  when  the  Father 
bare  witness  of  him,  it  would  be  in  no  other  language  than  he 
had  used  before,  "  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well 
pleased." 

This  he  knew  quite  through  the  course  of  life :  "  He  that 
sent  me  is  with  me:  the  Father  hath  not  left  me  alone,  because 
I  do  always  the  things  that  please  him,"  John  viii.  29,  and 
therefore  though  there  are  many  thousands  beloved  of  God,  his 
elect  in  whom  his  soul  delighted,  Mat.  xii.  18,  yet  not  as  he  is: 
so  that  when  we  are  said  to  be  accepted,  it  is  in  him,  as  the  be- 
loved, Eph.  i.  6.  He  alone  is  the  chosen  of  God  and  precious, 
1  Pet.  ii.  4,  we  are  translated  into  the  kingdom  of  this  dear 
Son,  Col.  i.  13. 

These  characters  are  included  in  the  title,  and  ought  to  be  re- 
membered; when  we  come  to  consider  that  he  gave  him  up 
for  us  oil;  not  a  servant,  but  a  Son  ;  not  a  rebel,  a  son  that 
causeth  shame,  but  one  who  was  his  delight ;  "the  brightness 
of  his  glory,  the  express  image  of  his  own  subsistence,"  Heb. 
i.  3. 

3.  It  signifies  an  unity  of  counsel.  Now,  as  none  has  under- 
stood '•  the  mind  of  the  Lord,"  Rom.  xi.  34;  there  is  "  none  with 
whom  he  took  counsel,"  Isa.  xl.  13;  he  "put  no  trust  in  his 
saints,  and  charged  his  angels  with  folly,"  Job  xi.  18  ;  so  how 
great  a  name  is  that  by  which  the  child  born  to  us  is  called, 
Wonderful  Counsellor?  Isa.  ix.  6.  He  maintains  it,  and  re- 
peats it,  even  after  the  Jews  had  resolved  to  batter  him  witli 
stones,  for  making  himself  equal  with  God.  He  goes  on  to  as- 
sert this  equality,  that  the  Son  can  "  do  nothing  of  himself,  but 
what  he  sees  the  Father  do,"  John  v.  19,  20.  The  words,  do- 
ing nothing  of  himself,  are  not  a  diminution ;  the  meaning  is, 
that  there  is  a  perpetual  and  an  equal  concord  between  them : 
and  it  might  have  been  said  as  truly  of  the  Father,  that  he  can 
do  nothing  of  himself:  for,  "whatever  things  the  Father  does, 
these  does  the  Son  likewise;"  for  the  Father  loves  the  Son,  and 
shows  him  all  things  that  himself  does;  whereas,  had  there 
been  an  inequality,  it  might  have  been  said  in  that  empire,  that 
the  heart  of  the  king  is  unsearchable ;  but  as  the  Spirit  search- 
eth  all  things,  yea,  the  deep  things  of  God,"  1  Cor.  ii.  10,  so  the 
Son  knoivs  all  that  is  in  the  Deity.  That  must  be  an  infinite 
mind  that  is  equal  to  an  infinite  nature ;  "  No  man  knows  who 
the  Son  is  but  the  Father,  and  who  the  Father  is  but  the  Son," 
Mat.  xi.  27. 

And  is  it  not  a  wonder  that  he  should  part  with  himj  and 


OF  Christ's  sufferings.  223 

give  him  up  for  us  all,  with  whom  he  took  counsel?  It  is 
plain,  that  the  redemption  that  he  came  for,  and  the  sufferings 
that  he  came  to,  were  agreed  on  in  "  the  counsel  of  peace  be- 
tween them  both,"  Zech.  vi.  13. 

4.  The  title,  his  oivn  Son,  signifies  a  communion  of  glory. 
We  may  say  to  him,  as  we  do  to  the  Father,  "  thine  is  the 
kingdom,  and  the  power,  and  the  glory."  There  is  nothing 
like  an  excepting  clause  in  all  his  commission,  such  an  one  as- 
Pharaoh  gave  Joseph;  "according  to  thy  word,  shall  all  my 
people  be  ruled,  and  be  thou  over  the  land  of  Egypt;  only  in 
the  throne  will  I  be  greater  than  thou,"  Gen.  xii.  40.  Instead 
of  that,  he  speaks  of  a  "  glory  that  he  had  with  the  Father 
before  the  world  was."  This  he  promises,  this  he  demands: 
it  was  his  will,  that  "they  whom  the  Father  had  given  him, 
should  be  with  him  where  he  was,  that  they  might  behold  the 
glory  which  the  Father  had  given  liim;  for,  saith  he,  thou  lov- 
edst  me  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,"  John  xvii.  24,  25. 
Though  the  highest  insolence  of  Lucifer  was,  that  he  "  set  his 
throne  as  the  throne  of  God,"  Isa.  xiv.  12,  yet,  without  any  in- 
equaUty,  we  read  that  "  the  throne  of  God,  and  of  the  Lamb,  is 
in  heaven,  and  his  servants  shall  serve  him,"  Rev.  xxi.  1,  2,  3. 
And  as  they  upon  mount  Sion  have  their  Father's  name  in 
their  foreheads,  there  is  as  much  said  of  the  Son  that  they  shall 
see  his  face,  and  his  name  shall  be  in  their  foreheads. 

This  is  he  whom  God  has  given  for  us,  the  Lord  of  glory, 
James  ii.  1.  It  is  brought  in  as  a  noble  aggravation  of  what  he 
endured,  that  when  "  he  was  in  the  form  of  God,  and  thought 
it  no  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God;  he  made  himself  of  no  re- 
putation, and  being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  took  on  him  the 
form  of  a  servant,  and  became  obedient  to  death,  even  the  death 
of  the  cross,"  Phil.  ii.  6. 

These  are  things  that  I  believe  to  be  included  within  the 
glorious  title  of  God's  own  Son:  and  we  ought  to  keep  them  in 
remembrance,  on  purpose  to  see  the  greatness  of  the  love  that 
gave  him  for  us,  and  say  with  the  apostle,  "  Thanks  be  to  God 
for  his  unspeakable  gift,"  2  Cor.  ix.  15. 

II.  We  read  of  this  wonderful  person  that  God  did  not  spare 
him;  which  signifies  the  greatness,  the  extremity  of  his  troubles. 
The  phrase  is  full  and  strong,  and  carries  in  it  a  vast  meaning; 
he  submitted  to  the  utmost  anguish  and  bitterness.  You  will 
understand  the  word,  as  you  do  when  it  is  used  in  a  case  that 
is  opposite,  "  I  will  spare  them  in  the  day  that  I  make  up  my 
jewels,  as  a  man  spares  his  own  son  that  serves  him,"  Mai.  iii. 
17.  God's  sparing  his  people  then,  when  he  is  putting  them 
among  his  jewels,  when  they  are  strung  together  in  the  glories 
of  a  common  salvation,  means  every  thing  that  can  enter  into 
their  happiness.  We  may  all  know  and  feel  the  sense  of  the 
comparison,  that  though  a  father's  love  to  a  son  that  serves  him, 


224  OF  Christ's  sufferings. 

is  called  no  more  than  sparing  him,  yet  who  does  not  see  what 
a  length  it  reaches;  that  it  comprehends  a  fulness  of  delight, 
a  recompense  of  reward,  a  confidence,  a  satisfaction,  an  open 
heart  and  treasure? 

Well,  in  proportion  to  such  an  affection  as  you  believe  to  be 
contained  in  a  man's  sparing  his  own  son,  and  God's  sparing 
his  people  when  they  go  to  heaven,  are  we  to  take  these  words, 
in  this  other  application,  that  he  spared  not  his  own  Son,  i.  e. 
he  neither  hid  him  from  the  punishment,  nor  excused  him  any 
particular  share  in  it;  he  made  not  the  least  abatement  of  what 
was  owing  to  the  guilt  of  those  that  he  suffered  for;  "he  trod 
the  wine-press  of  the  fierceness  and  wrath  of  Almighty  God,'* 
Rev.  xix.  15.  This  you  may  apply  to  the  six  following  par- 
ticulars, viz. 

1.  His  continual  meanness.  2.  His  pains  and  bodily  suffer- 
ings. 3,  The  horror  of  darkness  that  came  upon  his  soul.  4. 
The  weight  of  the  law  that  he  was  subject  to.  5.  The  scandal 
of  his  death.  6,  The  particular  energy  that  the  Father  himself 
gave  to  all  these  troubles.  There  was  no  abatement  in  any  of 
them ;  he  drank  the  last  dregs  of  the  cup ;  not  a  drop  was  left 
or  spilt  upon  the  ground. 

(1.)  You  see  that  God  did  not  spare  him  from  the  perpetual 
meanness  of  his  life.  As  soon  as  he  was  "  made  of  a  woman, 
he  made  himself  of  no  reputation,"  Gal,  iv.  4;  he  came  empty 
into  the  world,  Phil,  ii,  7,  though  in  him  dwelt  all  the  fulness 
of  the  Godhead  bodily,  Col.  ii.  9.  He  was  to  come  of  the  race 
of  their  kings,  and  was  "  raised  up  as  an  horn  of  salvation  in 
the  house  of  his  servant  David,"  Luke  i.  69;  but  this  must  be 
at  the  time  when  "  the  tabernacle  of  David  was  fallen,"  Acts 
XV.  16,  as  if  God  had  cast  off  and  abhorred,  and  been  ivroth 
ivith  his  anointed,  Psal.  Ixxxix.  38,  39,  40.  He  had  made 
void  the  covenant  of  his  servant,  and  profaned  his  crown:  he 
had  made  his  glory  to  cease,  and  cast  his  throne  to  the  ground. 
Bethlehem,  the  place  of  his  birth,  was  become  "  little  among 
the  princes  of  Judah,"  Micah  v.  2,  Mat.  ii.  11,  and  so  crowded 
with  the  noble  branches  of  the  family,  that  when  "  she  brought 
forth  her  first-born  child,  she  laid  him  in  a  manger,  because 
there  was  no  room  for  him  in  the  inn,"  Luke  ii.  7. 

What  a  glory  was  it  that  opened  the  tidings  to  the  shepherds, 
Luke  ii.  9,  when  they  themselves  were  within  a  circle  of  light 
from  heaven !  Here  is  a  wall  of  fire  round  about  them ;  and  no 
wonder,  when  the  great  glory  was  come  in  the  midst  of  them? 
To  hear  the  angels  preaching  the  everlasting  gospel,  telling 
them  "  tidings  of  great  joy,  that  to  them  was  born  that  day  in 
the  city  of  David,  a  Saviour,  which  is  Christ  the  Lord;"  every 
word  sounded  the  magnificence  of  this  great  thing  that  came 
to  pass.  And  in  the  same  breath  to  be  told,  that  instead  of  "  see- 
ing the  Lord  of  glory,  the  Prince  of  the  kings  of  the  earth," 


OF  Christ's  sufferings.  225 

they  should  see  a  child  wrapt  in  swaddling  clothes,  and  laid 
in  a  manger;  this  made  the  narration  the  most  unequal  and 
disproportioned  that  ever  was  in  the  world. 

In  his  youth  after  he  had  astonished  the  doctors  of  Jerusalem, 
he  goes  down,  and  was  subject  to  his  parents  at  Nazareth;  as 
if  he  was  determined  to  quench  the  light  of  Israel,  Luke  ii. 
47,  51. 

And  as  his  fame  increased,  so  did  his  reproach;  as  he  com- 
plains in  prophecy,  "  reproach  has  broken  my  heart,  I  am  full 
of  heaviness,"  Psal.  Ixix.  20,  upon  which  they  "  hid  their  faces 
from  him,  they  despised  and  esteemed  him  not,"  Isa.  liii.  3. 
Though  he  was  "  the  branch  of  the  Lord,  beautiful  and  glori- 
ous," Isa.  iv.  2,  yet  he  came  as  a  "root  out  of  a  dry  ground:" 
all  they  who  were  looking  for  him  "saw  no  comeliness  in  him; 
he  was  despised  and  rejected  of  men,  a  man  of  sorrows,  and 
acquainted  with  grief,"  Isa.  lin.  4. 

He  who  was  to  have  "  the  government  upon  his  shoulders," 
Isa.  vi.  7,  had  not  "  where  to  lay  his  head,"  Luke  ix.  5;  "  though 
he  was  rich,  yet  for  our  sakes  he  became  poor,"  2  Cor.  viii,  9. 
He  lived  upon  the  voluntary  contribution  of  his  hearers ;  "  they 
mmistered  to  him  of  their  substance,"  Luke  viii.  3.  Though 
the  great  men  from  the  east  "  brought  him  presents,  gold,  frank- 
incense, and  myrrh,"  as  the  first  fruits  of  a  glorious  empire. 
Mat.  ii.  11,  yet  the  King  of  kings  is  a  servant  of  rulers,  Isa. 
xlix.  7,  and  the  desire  of  all  7iations  is  one  whom  his  otvn 
nation  abhors,  Hag.  ii.  7.  Though  "  the  kings  of  Sheba  and 
Seba  would  offer  gifts,"  Psal.  Ixxii.  10,  yet  he  cannot  pay  his 
tribute-money  till  he  sends  for  it  out  of  a  fish's  mouth,  Mat. 
xvii.  27. 

(2.)  You  may  refer  this  to  his  bodily  pains  and  sufferings. 
He  who  was  "fairer  than  the  sons  of  men,"  Psal.  xlv.  2,  has 
his  "  visage  marred  more  than  any  man,  and  his  form  more 
than  the  sons  of  men,"  Isa.  hi.  14.  "  He  whose  countenance 
is  now  as  the  sun,  when  it  shines  in  all  its  strength,"  Rev.  i.  16, 
"  hid  not  his  face  from  shame  and  spitting,"  Isa.  1.  6 ;  and  though 
the  time  will  come  that  from  "  his  countenance  the  heaven  and 
the  earth  shall  flee  away,"  Rev.  xx.  11,  yet  they  covered  his 
face  and  smote  him,  John  iv.  6. 

He  knew  the  meaning  of  hunger  and  thirst,  of  cruel  mock- 
ings,  yea,  moreover,  of  bonds  and  imprisonments :  he  was 
scourged  as  a  malefactor,  had  a  crown  of  thorns  platted  upon 
his  head :  "  greedy  dogs  came  against  him,  they  pierced  his 
hands  and  his  feet :  his  bones  were  all  out  of  joint ;  his  heart 
like  wax  melted  in  the  midst  of  his  bowels:  they  gave  him  gall 
for  his  meat,  and  in  his  thirst  they  gave  him  vinegar  to  drink," 
Psal.  xxii.  16.  A  body  seems  to  be  prepared  for  him,  Heb. 
X.  5,  that  he  might  "  bear  our  sins  in  his  body  on  the  tree," 
1  Pet.  ii.  24,  so  tliat  we  see  him  racked  and  torn;  no  "sound- 

29 


226  OF  Christ's  sufferings. 

ness  in  his  flesh,  because  of  God's  anger,"  Psal.  xxxviii,  3, 
This  is  he  that  "came  by  water  and  blood,"  1  John  v.  6,  for 
they  "  pierced  his  side,  and  forthwith  there  came  out  blood  ana 
water,"  John  xix.  34. 

(3.)  He  had  a  horror  of  great  darkness  upon  his  soul:  which 
shows  it  to  be  no  supernatural  spirit,  but  of  the  very  same 
nature  with  ours,  capable  of  grief,  and  appointed  to  it.  This 
he  desires  his  disciples  to  observe  and  attend ;  "  his  soul  was 
exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto  death,"  Mat.  xxvi.  38,  and 
therefore  he  orders  them  to  watch.  Grief  in  them  was  able  to 
cheat  itself,  it  sunk  them  to  sleep:  but  it  kept  him  awake,  and 
"his  sweat  was  like  great  drops  of  blood  falling  to  the  earth," 
Luke  xxii.  44. 

(4.)  That  which  pressed  him  so  much  was  the  weight  of  the 
law.  He  was  made  under  the  law,  Gal.  iv.  4,  and  as  it  is  said 
that  such  people  are  under  the  curse,  Gal.  iii.  10,  it  was  the 
curse  that  we  are  redeemed  from;  for  no  man  could,  by  any 
means,  "redeem  this  our  elder  brother,  or  pay  unto  God  a  ran- 
som for  him,"  Psal.  xlix.  7;  no,  "he  paid  himself  a  ransom  for 
us,"  1  Tim.  ii.  6.  "  The  righteousness  of  the  law  speaks  in  this 
wise,  that  the  man  who  does  these  things  shall  live  in  them," 
Rom.  X.  5 ;  he  did  these  things  with  perfection  and  purity,  and 
yet  nevertheless  the  law  that  was  ordained  to  life,  was  to  him 
a  sentence  o{ death:  for  though  obedience  and  punishment  were 
divided,  so  that  no  person  could  have  both,  yet  in  him  they  are 
united:  here  is  a  righteous  servant,  Eccl.  viii.  14,  to  whom  it 
happens,  according  to  the  work  of  the  wicked;  for  upon  him 
was  laid  the  iniquiti/  of  us  all,  Isa.  liii.  6. 

(5.)  The  scandal  of  his  death.  God  had  said  to  the  Jews, 
"  Cursed  is  every  one  that  is  hanged  on  a  tree,"  Deut.  xxi.  23, 
Gal.  iii.  10.  The  Romans  had  no  such  tradition;  and  therefore 
he  could  never  have  suffered  but  in  this  due  time,  Rom,  v.  6, 
that  the  sceptre  ivas  departed  from  Judah,  Gen.  xlix.  10.  The 
Romans  would  never  have  found  him  guilty  of  such  a  crime; 
the  Jews  would  never  have  inflicted  such  a  punishment ;  but 
he  is  to  be  delivered  to  the  Gentiles.  Pilate  had  a  mind  to  be 
clear  of  it,  and  therefore  throws  it  all  out  of  his  hands :  "  Take 
ye  him,  and  judge  him  according  to  your  law."  The  Jews 
therefore  said  unto  him,  "  It  is  not  lawful  for  us  to  put  any  man 
to  death,  that  the  saying  of  Jesus  might  be  fulfilled,  signifying 
what  death  he  should  die,"  John  xviii.  31,  32.  He  told  them 
plainly  after  this,  "Take  ye  him,  and  crucify  him;  I  find  no 
fault  in  him;"  upon  which  they  reply,  "We  have  a  law,  and 
by  that  law  he  ought  to  die,  because  he  made  himself  the  Son 
of  God,"  John  xix.  4. 

Blasphemy  is  his  sin,  which  none  but  the  Jews  would  have 
called  so:  crucifixion  is  his  punishment,  which  none  but  the 
Romans  would  have  made  so;  and  therefore  it  is  thus  ordered, 


OF  Christ's  sufferings.  227 

that  the  "  heathen  shall  rage  at  the  same  time  that  the  people 
imagined  a  vain  thing,"  Psal.  ii.  I :  and  that  he  might,  in  every 
sense  of  the  word,  be  a  curse  for  us,  he  is  to  have  it  not  only 
from  the  moral  law,  but  from  the  ceremonial.  They  took  him, 
and  hanged  him  on  a  tree,  Acts  v.  30,  and  therefore  it  is  said, 
when  he  endured  the  cross,  he  despised  the  shame,  Heb.  xiii.  2. 

(6.)  That  which  is  principally  to  be  minded,  is  the  particular 
energy  that  the  Father  gave  to  all  these  troubles;  even  this  was 
the  doing  of  the  Lord.  The  Jews  took  him  to  be  stricken, 
smitten  of  God,  and  afflicted,  Isa.  liii,  4.  They  argued  as 
David  foretold  they  would,  "  Let  us  persecute  and  take  him, 
because  God  has  forsaken  him."  All  the  varieties  of  trouble  that 
seized  him  were  under  a  divine  appointment.  He  who  settles 
the  bounds  of  our  habitation,  provided  none  for  him,  he  chast- 
ened him,  and  gave  him  over  to  death.  The  Lord  God  "  waken- 
ed and  opened  his  ear,  morning  by  morning,  that  he  might  give 
his  back  to  the  smiters,  and  his  cheeks  to  them  that  plucked  off 
the  hair,"  Isa.  1.  4,  5,  6. 

He  begs  of  the  Father,  like  one  who  had  "learned  obedience 
by  the  things  that  he  suffered,"  Heb.  v.  8,  "  all  things  are  pos- 
sible to  thee,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me ;  and,  if  it  may  not  pass 
from  me,  except  I  drink  it,  thy  will  be  done;"  Mat.  xxvi.  39. 
Well,  it  was  his  will,  the  cup  which  the  Father  had  given  him 
to  drink.  There  was  nothing  that  looked  like  sparing  a  Son 
that  serves  him.  The  law  was  in  his  heart,  and  we  may  say 
it  went  to  his  heart;  he  felt  it  there,  which  made  his  heart  faint 
within  him. 

Though  he  was  offered  as  a  sacrifice  of  a  sweet  smelling 
savour,  Eph.  v.  2,  yet  who  would  have  thought  so,  when  he 
pleads  and  groans,  and  cries,  and  argues  under  his  burden, 
"  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?"  Mat.  xxvii. 
46.  "  Why  art  thou  so  far  from  the  voice  of  my  roaring?" 
Psal.  xxii.  1. 

This  was  so  evident,  that  they  insult  him  upon  it;  "  Let  us 
see,  say  they,  whether  Elias  will  come  to  take  him  down." 
Mark  xv.  36.  Elias  met  him  in  the  mount  of  transfiguration, 
and  there  spake  of  his  decease  at  Jerusalem,  Mat.  xvii.  6,  but 
he  could  do  nothmg  to  prevent  it,  Luke  ix.  31.  He  foretold 
on  mount  Tabor,  what  happened  on  Calvary.  It  was  still 
more  daring  to  say,  "  Let  God  deliver  him,  if  he  will  have  him; 
for  he  said,  I  am  the  Son  of  God." 

Upon  the  whole,  you  see  the  truth  and  propriety  of  those 
astonishing  words,  that  "  it  pleased  the  Father  to  bruise  him, 
and  put  him  to  grief;"  Isa.  liii.  10.  I  will  not  say  it  was 
threatened,  but  it  was  designed,  when  God  proclaimed,  "Awake, 
0  sword,  against  the  man  that  is  my  fellow;  smite  the  shep- 
herd;" Zech.  xiii.  7.  There  could  never  be  a  greater  occasion 
to  plead,  as  the  prophet  does,  Jer.  xlvii.  6,  7;  "  0  thou  sword 


228  OF  Christ's  sufferings. 

of  the  Lord,  how  long  will  it  be  ere  thou  be  quiet?  Put  up 
thyself  into  the  scabbard,  rest,  and  be  still."  But  the  answer 
was  ready,  How  can  it  be  quiet,  when  the  Lord  hath  given  it 
such  a  cJiarge,  and  has  so  appointed  it?  For,  as  he  spared  him 
not,  it  was  he  who  delivered  him  up. 


SERIMON  II. 

Romans  viii.  32. — He  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for  us  all. 

The  apostle  takes  care  to  let  us  know  that  there  was  a  divine 
appointment  of  all  the  sorrows  and  grief  with  which  our  Lord 
became  acquainted.  "  He  gave  himself  for  our  sins,  that  he 
might  deliver  us  from  this  present  evil  world,  according  to  the 
will  of  God,  and  our  Father,"  Gal.  i.  4. 

That  second  causes  had  their  share  and  their  guilt,  is  true : 
the  envy  of  the  priests,  the  rage  of  the  heathen,  the  jealousy  of 
the  rulers,  the  superstition  of  the  rabble,  the  influence  of  Satan, 
the  avarice  of  Judas,  JNIat.  xxvii.  18,  these  are  placed  as  an 
over-ruling  providence  ordained  or  permitted  them.  But  still 
there  was  a  supreme  guiding  cause,  that  quickened  the  move- 
ment, and  turned  the  wheels. 

What  He  did,  was  holy,  just,  and  good.  The  malignity  of 
the  several  creatures  obeyed  his  will,  without  polluting  it:  to 
them  it  was  a  scene  of  wickedness,  the  lust  of  the  flesh  and  of 
the  mind:  malice,  pride,  and  envy,  were  so  many  snares  of  the 
devil,  by  which  he  led  them  captive,  and  in  that  view  the  cru- 
cifying of  the  Lord  of  glory,  was  the  greatest  impiety  that  ever 
human  nature  ran  into:  but  take  it  as  a  model,  laid  by  an  all- 
comprehending  mind,  an  xinderstanding  that  is  infinite,  PsaJ. 
cxlvii.  5,  and  we  may  say,  here  was  a  train  of  the  best  means, 
in  order  to  accomplish  the  greatest  end. 

Never  did  the  divine  goodness  appear  in  a  nobler  design; 
never  did  the  divine  ivisdom  shine  out  in  a  better  method; 
never  was  any  thing  more  becoming  him,  "  of  whom  are  all 
things,  and  by  whom  are  all  things,  than  in  bringing  many  sons 
to  glory,  to  make  the  Captain  of  their  salvation  perfect,  through 
his  sufterings,"  Heb.  ii.  10. 

The  Scripture  has  taken  a  great  deal  of  care  to  keep  this  in 
view,  quite  through  the  story  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified; 
that  nothing  happened  to  him,  but  in  pursuance  of  a  counsel 
and  purpose,  that  was  moved  and  agreed  to  before  the  world 
began;  and  therefore  it  is  spoken  of  in  my  text,  as  the  doing  of 
the  Lord. 

Had  we  been  told  of  the  priests,  who  drew  up  the  charge, 
and  stirred  up  the  people,  that  they  spared  him  not;  had  this 


OF  Christ's  sufferings.  229 

been  said  of  those  that  reviled  him,  that  cut  him  with  thorns, 
or  nails,  or  spears,  we  could  easily  have  understood  it:  had  the 
apostle  told  us,  that  he  was  delivered  up,  Acts  iii.  13,  by  his 
countrymen,  to  Pilate,  and  by  him  back  again  to  them,  the 
phrase  would  have  stood  without  any  mystery:  but  when  we 
read  of  his  being  humbled  and  grieved,  neglected  and  wounded, 
and  all  this  said  of  the  Father,  that  thus  used  his  own  Son,  that 
he  did  not  spare  him,  that  he  delivered  him  np,  it  is  a  thing 
that  man's  wisdom  can  neither  give  nor  take;  and  therefore  the 
Holy  Spirit  has  been  very  abundant  to  carry  this  quite  through 
the  Bible,  as  you  will  see  by  a  long  train  of  particulars, 

1.  It  was  agreed  on  in  the  counsel  between  the  Father  and 
the  Son. 

2.  It  was  foretold  in  the  very  dawning  of  the  love  and  kind- 
ness that  appeared  towards  men. 

3.  It  was  designed  in  the  whole  frame  of  devotion,  which 
God  appointed  among  his  people. 

4.  To  this  I  may  add,  that  these  shadows  were  discharged  and 
abolished,  as  soon  as  ever  the  thing  signified  was  accomplished. 

5.  It  is  what  the  prophets  in  their  several  ages  gave  a  lineal 
witness  to. 

6.  It  is  a  thing  of  which  Christ  himself  was  apprised,  and  to 
which  he  consented. 

7.  It  is  what  the  human  nature  was  prepared  and  disposed  for. 

8.  This  he  kept  off,  till  the  time  appointed  for  it  came,  to 
show  that  it  was  always  in  his  power  to  prevent  it. 

9.  Then  he  went  out  to  meet  it,  and  received  it  not  only  with 
submission,  but  obedience. 

10.  There  is  to  be  an  eternal  memorial  of  it  in  heaven;  which 
shows  that  the  design  was  laid  in  the  place  where  it  is  to  be 
admired. 

I  have  thrown  these  things  into  the  order  and  situation  that 
the  word  of  God  has  given  them;  and  I  doubt  not  that  they 
will  let  us  see  that  we  ought  to  look  a  great  deal  higher  than  to 
the  powers  of  darkness  in  the  sufferings  of  Christ.  That  it  was 
not  merely  the  push  of  envy,  the  produce  of  malice,  treachery, 
deceit,  and  murder,  but  it  is  to  be  considered  as  his  own  obe- 
dience to  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross.  It  was  also  the 
Father's  appointment,  what  he  demanded  in  law,  and  what  he 
delighted  in,  as  God  only  wise,  who  is  blessed  for  ever;  ac- 
cording to  the  apostle's  distinction,  when  he  argues  with  the 
Jews;  "  Him,  being  delivered  by  the  determinate  counsel  and 
foreknowledge  of  God,  ye  have  taken,  and  by  wicked  hands 
have  crucified  and  slain,"  Acts  ii.  23. 

First,  He  observes  their  action  in  the  whole  gradation;  they 
took  him,  and  crucified  him,  and  slew  him.  Secondly,  They  did 
it  by  wicked  ha?ids,  and  wicked  hearts:  he  could  never  afford 
them  any  better  name  than  betrayers  and  murderers,  Acts  vii. 


230  OF  Christ's  sufferings. 

52,  and  yet,  Thirdly,  The  person  thus  used  was  delivered,  given 
up,  surrendered,  and  appointed  to  the  self  same  lot.  Fourthly, 
This  was  by  the  foreknowledge  of  God;  he  could  tell  that  so  it 
would  be:  Nay,  Fifthly,  It  is  by  his  determinate  counsel,  what 
he  had  framed  and  fixed,  and  brought  into  a  certain  sphere, 
that  it  should  most  surely  come  to  pass. 

1.  We  may  say,  with  the  scriptures  of  truth,  that  the  suffer- 
ings of  Christ  were  agreed  on  between  the  Father  and  the  Son. 
Indeed,  this  is  the  secret  of  the  Lord,  and  among  his  invisible 
things,  1  Cor.  ii,  9,  18,  nor  could  we  ever  have  known  them, 
had  they  not  been  revealed  to  us  by  his  Spirit,  as  now  they  are. 

We  are  expressly  told,  that  Christ,  as  a  branch,  should  grow 
up  out  of  liis  place,  Zech.  vi.  12,  and  this  we  know  to  be  out  of 
a  dry  ground,  Isa.  liii.  2;  and  though  he  was  to  build  the  tem- 
ple of  the  Lord,  yet  the  temple  of  his  body  is  to  be  destroyed, 
in  order  to  it,  John  ii.  19.  He  should,  indeed,  bear  the  glory, 
but  before  that  he  must  bear  our  griefs,  and  carry  our  sorrows, 
Isa.  liii.  4,  and  though  he  should  sit  upon  his  throne,  he  is  there 
as  a  Priest,  as  one  who  has  somewhat  to  offer;  and  all  this 
scheme  of  humiliation  and  trouble  flows  from  the  counsel  of 
peace  that  was  between  them  both. 

It  was  "  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  that  prospered  in  his  hand," 
Isa.  liii.  10,  not  only  what  the  Lord  pleased  to  appoint,  but  the 
very  thing  i}i  which  his  soul  delighted;  the  darling  project,  the 
favourite  article,  the  chief  of  the  ways  of  God,  which  he  mag- 
nified above  all  his  name,  Psal.  cxxxviii.  2.  There  was  a 
model  of  glory  laid,  that  would  both  outshine  the  creation,  and 
outlast  it:  it  will  hold  when  "  the  first  heaven  and  the  first  earth 
are  passed  away,"  Rev.  xxi.  1.  When  he  has  rubbed  out  all 
the  figures  of  Deity,  that  are  engraven  upon  the  universe,  he 
reserves  a  memorial  that  shall  endure  for  ever,  and  that  is  in  the 
redemption  that  he  has  purchased. 

Here  are  a  people  to  be  saved  who  are  sold;  and,  therefore, 
to  make  his  love  triumphant,  they  are  bought  with  a  price, 
I  Cor.  vi.  19.  The  person  who  pays  it  is  the  Son  of  God;  the 
thing  that  he  lays  down  for  it  is  his  precious  blood,  1  Pet.  i,  19, 
20.  To  this  he  was  verily  foreordained  before  the  foundation 
of  the  word,  though  not  manifest  till  these  last  times.  This 
does  not  only  signify  that  the  happiness  we  have  in  him,  was 
then  contrived,  but  the  means  of  bringing  it  about  were  then 
appointed,  and  that  was  the  precious  blood  of  the  Son  of  God, 
as  of  a  Lamb  without  blemish  and  without  spot;  so  that  it 
may  be  said  of  all  his  troubles,  they  are  the  birth  of  an  eternal 
purpose,  the  decree  brought  forth. 

The  disciples  knew  how  to  consider  the  design  of  God,  and 
the  malignity  of  men,  without  any  jumble  or  confusion ;  they 
work  together,  and  yet  are  greatly  distinct;  things  are  called  by 
their  proper  names.  Here  is  "  the  rage  of  the  heathen,  the  vain 


OF  Christ's  sufferings.  231 

imaginations  of  the  people,  the  kings  of  the  earth  stood  up,  and 
the  rulers  were  gathered  together  against  the  Lord,  and  against 
his  Christ.  Herod  and  Pontius  Pilate,  the  Gentiles,  with  the 
people  of  Israel,  of  a  truth,  had  gathered  togetl"^-"  against  the 
holy  child  Jesus;  but  it  was  to  do  what  God's  ov/r-  hand  and 
counsel  had  determined  before  to  be  done."  Acts  iv.  25 — 28. 
He  was  not  the  author  of  their  sin,  though  they  were  the  tools 
of  his  pleasure.  We  read  here,  that  the  determination  is  attri- 
buted both  to  his  hand  and  his  counsel:  as  if  it  was  not  a  dead 
scheme,  a  thing  laid  for  a  peradventure,  what  ynay  happen,  or 
may  not;  but  the  decree  was  quiekened,full  of  life,  and  would  cer- 
tainly, after  the  leisure  of  many  ages,  produce  what  it  contrived. 

You  will  suppose  that  this  includes  the  concurrence  of  both 
parties ;  and  it  lets  us  see,  that  whatever  is  done,  is  the  eflect  of 
a  plan  that  God  has  purposed  i/i  himself:  for  when  the  world 
was  framing,  and  the  Redeemer,  who  was  "daily  his  delight, 
rejoiced  always  before  him,"  even  then  he  is  said  to  rejoice  in 
"  the  habitable  parts  of  the  earth,  and  have  his  delights  among 
the  sons  of  men,"  Prov.  viii.  30,  31,  and  the  argument  we  have 
of  his  delight  in  them,  is  the  way  he  took  to  show  it;  "The 
good  Shepherd  gives  his  life  for  the  sheep,"  John  x.  11. 

2.  The  suflerings  of  Christ  were  foretold  in  the  very  dawn 
of  the  love  and  kindness  of  God  our  Saviour  towards  man;  he 
acted  upon  our  recovery,  as  he  did  upon  the  creation.  When 
Adam  and  Eve  had  fallen,  the  human  nature  was  "  without 
form  and  void,  and  darkness  lay  upon  the  face  of  the  deep :"  till 
he  broke  silence  with  that  great  voice.  Let  there  be  lif^ht:  he 
was  pleased  to  visit  them,  as  they  sat  in  the  region  and  shadow 
of  death;  there  he  brought  life  and  immortality  \Q  its  first 
Hght,  2  Tim.  i.  10,  and  that  was  the  morning  of  our  gospel. 
They  were  then  assured  that  the  serpent  should  be  bruised  in 
the  head.  Gen.  iii.  15,  crushed  and  mashed  in  pieces;  that  is,  in 
the  gospel  style,  The  prince  of  this  luorld  shall  he  judged,  John 
xvi.  11.  But  the  way  of  doing  it,  is  making  the  conqueror  the 
seed  of  the  woman,  and  suffering  the  enemy  to  bruise  his  heel. 
That  these  expressions  denote  the  human  nature  of  Christ,  and 
his  troubles  in  it,  is  above  all  dispute;  so  that. 

The  first  doctrine  revealed  to  Adam  was  a  redemption 
through  tlic  blood  of  Jesus,  Col.  i.  14.  That  he  should  be  made 
of  a  woman,  to  be  made  under  the  law.  Gal.  iv.  4,  and  being 
under  the  law,  was  under  the  curse,  Gal.  iii.  10.  This  is  the 
current  article,  the  thing  most  in  view  quite  through  the  Old 
and  New  Testament;  that  he  verily  should  be  partaker  of 
flesh  and  blood,  as  all  the  children  were,  that  "  through  'leath, 
he  might  subdue  him  that  had  the  power  of  death,  that  is,  the 
devil,"  Heb.  ii.  14.  We  may  extend  the  apostle's  observation, 
and  take  it  in  a  wider  circumference  ;  as  he  says,  "  The  Scrip- 
ture foreseeing  that  God  would  justify  the  heathen  through  faith, 


232  OF  Christ's  sufferings. 

preached  before  the  gospel  unto  Abraham,  saying,  in  thee  shall 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed,"  Gal.  iii.  8.  The  truth 
is  the  same,  after  you  have  stretched  it  out  as  it  was  designed; 
that  as  i\\e  justification  of  sinners  should  be  through  ^  faith  in 
Jesus,  even  a  faith  in  his  blood,  God  preached  before  the  gospel 
to  Adam  and  Eve,  saying,  "  in  her  seed  all  the  families  of  the 
earth  should  be  blessed." 

It  was  by  faith  in  this  that  ^bel  offered  to  God  a  more  excel- 
lent sacrifice  than  Cain,  Heb.  xi.  4,  something  that  was  more 
a  sacrifice,  that  better  agreed  to  the  nature  and  design  of  it.  As 
it  was  managed  in  a  way  of  slaughter,  it  had  respect  to  him, 
who  is  called,  "  The  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world."  Bt/  this  he  obtained  witness  that  he  was  righteous; 
not  by  this  faith,  but  by  the  sacrifice;  for  though  the  gramma- 
tical construction  agrees  to  either  of  them,  yet  I  rather  choose 
this  interpretation,  iDecause  there  is  particular  notice  taken,  that 
God  testified  of  his  gifits. 

They  all  knew  here  was  "a  hope  set  before  them,"  Heb.  vi. 
IS,  that  God  was  gracious  in  the  remission  of  sins;  and  they 
looked  to  the  great  atonement,  as  "  the  reason  of  the  hope  that 
was  in  them."  So  early  did  God  "  set  him  forth,  fore-ordained 
him  to  be  a  propitiation  for  our  sins,  through  faith  in  his  blood," 
Rom.  iii.  25.  The  apostle  says  no  other  thing  than  Moses,  in 
the  law,  and  the  prophets  did  ivrite,  Acts  xxvi.  22,  nay,  the 
very  same  that  Adam,  Abel,  Enoch,  and  all  they  who  walked 
with  God,  believed  and  owned  in  their  generations;  that  his 
own  Son  should  be  delivered  up  for  us  all :  it  was  a  doctrine 
that  opened  to  them  with  the  very  eyelids  of  the  morning. 
This  has  its  place  among  "  the  first  principles  of  the  oracles  of 
God,"  Heb.  v.  12,  and  in  this  sense  we  may  truly  say,  Chris- 
tianity is  as  old  as  the  creation. 

3.  These  sufferings  of  Christ  were  figured  out  in  the  whole 
frame  of  that  devotion,  which  God  appointed  among  his  peo- 
ple. Their  religion  before  the  flood  had  the  light  of  revelation 
to  guide  it.  As  they  offered  by  fiaith,  as  they  walked  before 
God,'\X,  proved  them  to  be  reconciled:  for  "how  should  two 
walk  together  except  they  are  agreed?"  Amos  iii.  3.  Their 
sacrifices  in  so  many  forms  were  an  argument  how  much  they 
believed  that  "  without  the  shedding  of  blood,  there  could  be 
no  remission;"  and  this  must  carry  their  thoughts  to  him,  who 
was  to  redeem  us  "  in  the  body  of  his  flesh  through  death," 
Heb.  ix.  22. 

But  these  rules  came  to  be  more  digested  and  multiplied: 
when  he  took  the  seed  of  Abraham  into  covenant  with  him,  he 
gave  them  circumcision,  as  a  seal  of  the  righteousness  of  that 
faith,  Rom  iv.  11,  which  they  had.  When  they  were  uncir- 
cumcised,  they  built  their  altars,  as  so  many  types  of  that  altar 
that  sanctifies  every  gift,  1  Cor.  v.  7.    They  had  their  Paschal 


OF  Christ's  sufferings.  233 

Lamb,  as  a  pledge  of  "  Christ  our  Passover,  who  is  sacrificed 
for  us,"  Psal.  li.  nit.  There  was  the  blood  of  bulls  and  goats, 
whole  burnt-offerings,  their  incense  and  perfumes  all  thrown  in- 
to the  same  devotions,  in  hopes  of  him  who  has  "  given  himself 
for  us,  a  sacrifice  of  sweet  smelling  savour,"  Eph.  v.  2.  They 
instantly  served  God  day  and  night.  Acts  xxvi.  7,  they  did  it 
with  ^fervency,  an  intenseness,  and  a  rest  of  thought  upon  the 
great  hope  of  Israel. 

Now,  to  what  purpose  should  God  lead  a  pecuhar  people  to 
devotions  that  required  a  large  expense  of  time  and  cost,  but 
only  to  put  them  in  mind  of  him,  who  is  "a  High-priest  of 
good  things  to  come,"  Heb.  ix.  II,  12,  and  who,  "  by  his  own 
blood  should  enter  into  the  holiest  of  all,  having  obtained  eternal 
redemption  for  us :"  so  that  Judaism  was  only  Christianity  in 
figures,  and  shadows  of  good  things  to  come. 

4.  I  must  add  to  this  head,  that  which  still  gives  more  light 
and  force  to  the  argument,  that  these  shadows  are  discharged 
and  abolished  upon  the  death  of  Christ.  This  proves,  that  as 
we  are  never  to  have  them  at  all,  so  the  Jews  had  them,  not  for 
the  sake  of  the  things  themselves,  but  the  Holy  Ghost  signified, 
that  the  "  way  into  the  holiest  of  all  was  not  yet  made  mani- 
fest," Heb.  ix.  8.  For  had  there  been  any  virtue  in  them,  "  they 
would  not  have  ceased  to  be  offered,"  Heb.  x.  2.  But  the  New 
Testament  speaks  of  them  with  contempt,  as  the  Old  one  did  with 
veneration.  They  are  called  "  weak  and  beggarly  elements, 
carnal  ordinances,"  Gal,  iv.  9,  and  an  obedience  to  them  is  "  be- 
ing in  bondage,"  Heb,  x,  10, 

What  is  the  reason  that  the  service  of  God,  which  was  once 
a  glory,  should  be  now  a  shame?  Rom.  ix.  3.  The  apostle  has 
plainly  told  us,  that  "  what  was  made  glorious  has  no  glory, 
by  reason  of  a  glory  that  excels,"  2  Cor.  iii.  10.  The  whole 
prediction  of  these  typical  duties  is  answered :  they  were  but 
patterns  of  things  in  the  heavens;  ours  are  the  heavenly  things 
themselves,  Heb.  ix.  23.  The  body  is  Christ,  Col.  ii.  17.  He 
has  done  in  one  offering,  Heb.  x,  10 — 12,  what  they  could 
only  give  us  so  many  draughts  of  in  a  thousand.  This  proves 
there  was  a  double  end  to  be  answered  in  the  crucifixion  of 
our  Lord;  first  to  accomplish  the  service  of  the  temple;  and, 
secondly  to  abolish  it:  and  therefore,  there  is  no  more  occasion 
to  bring  oftentimes  the  same  sacrifices;  for  "  Christ  has  appeared 
in  the  end  of  the  world,  to  put  away  sin  by  the  offering  of  him- 
self," Heb.  ix.  25,  26.  You  may  plainly  see  the  blood  of  their 
slain  beasts  was  shed  without  the  gate,  and  carried  ivithout 
the  camp,  Heb.  xiii.  11.  This  was  afterwards  brought  within 
the  veil,  and  upon  the  garments  of  the  high-priest  presented  be- 
fore the  holiest  of  all.  And  thus  is  Christ  gone,  not  with  the 
blood  of  others,  but  his  own;  not  into  the  holy  places  made  with 
hands,  but  into  heaven  itself. 

30 


234  OF  Christ's  sufferings. 

They  had  it  as  their  distinction  from  all  other  people,  that  as 
"of  them  Christ  was  to  come,"  Rom,  ix.  5,  so  among  them  he 
was  to  be  well  known :  but  "  the  veil  is  rent,  and  the  middle 
wall  of  partition  broken  down,"  Mat.  xxviii.  51,  and  he  did 
this  by  dying :  "  He  abolished  in  his  flesh  the  enmity,  even  the 
law  of  commandments  contained  in  ordinances,  of  twain  making 
one  new  man,"  Eph.  ii.  13,  14.  This  could  never  be  done  with- 
out his  death :  for  all  the  ceremonial  law  was  in  full  force,  till 
"the  seed  came  to  whom  the  promise  was  made,"  Gal,  ii,  19, 
and  the  thing  was  over  to  which  those  figures  had  their  allusion. 

This  proves  that  his  humiliation,  from  the  birth  to  the  grave, 
from  the  manger  to  the  cross,  was  all  laid  and  contrived.  "  The 
Son  of  man  went,  as  it  was  written  of  him,"  Mat.  xxvi.  24.  It 
was  not  a  start  of  second  causes,  an  event  that  bubbled  out  un- 
awares; but  foreseen,  foretold,  and  fore-ordained.  And  though 
what  he  died  for  was  not  the  righteousness  of  the  law,  yet  it  is 
a  righteousness  to  which  "  both  the  law  and  the  prophets  gave 
witness,"  Rom.  iii.  22.  All  their  devotion  was  a  shadow  of 
good  things  to  come,  Heb.  x.  1,  and  therefore  could  "  make 
nothing  perfect,  as  the  bringing  in  of  a  better  hope  did ;  by 
which  we  now  draw  nigh  unto  God,"  chap.  vii.  18,  19.  You 
see  by  these  two  particulars,  that  God  ever  brought  up  his  peo- 
ple in  the  knowledge  of  salvation  by  the  remission  of  sin,  and  in 
the  knowledge  of  that  remission  by  the  blood  of  the  cross  :  be- 
cause almost  all  things  under  the  law  are  purged  with  blood, 
Rom.  ix.  22,  and  why  did  they  so  often  meet  with  it,  but  to 
keep  their  faith  alive  in  this  great  article  of  a  satisfaction  to  his 
justice  ? 

It  is  what  the  projjhets,  in  their  several  ages,  gave  a  lineal 
ivitness  to  ;  prophecy  was  nothing  but  revelation  retailed  and 
dealt  out  in  parcels :  "  holy  men  of  God  spake  as  they  were 
moved,"  2  Pet.  i.  20,  21,  blown  about  and  carried,  directed  and 
appointed,  borne  and  upheld  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  What  God  at 
first  declared  with  his  own  mouth,  afterwards  he  distributed 
through  earthen  vessels,  at  "  sundry  times,  and  in  divers  man- 
ners," Heb.  i.  1.  And  as  the  first  and  greatest  thing  that  ever 
he  had  to  tell  mankind,  was  redeeming  love,  so  the  light  he  gave 
to  every  prophet  was  kindled  at  tJiat.  Whatever  he  said  about 
their  duties,  their  sins,  their  captivity,  and  deliverance,  were  so 
many  lines  stretching,  pointing,  and  centring  here.  As  the 
apostle  Peter  tells  us,  that  the  prophets  who  inquired  and  search- 
ed into  "our  salvation,  spake  of  the  grace  that  is  come  to  us," 
1  Pet.  i.  10, 1 1.  It  was  the  Spirit  of  Christ  in  them  that  testified 
the  two  main  things,  "  the  sufferings  of  Christ,"  and  "  the  glory 
that  should  follow;"  and  it  was  revealed  to  them,  that  not  to 
themselves  but  to  us  they  did  minister;  they  insisted  upon 
things  that  are  now  reported  mnong  us. 

Peter  declared  this  to  the  Jews,  at  the  time  that  he  set  him- 


OP  Christ's  sufferings.  235 

self  to  convince  them  of  their  sin:  "  They  had  dehvered  up,  and 
denied  the  holy  and  just  One,  and  killed  the  prince  of  life," 
Acts  iii.  13,  14,  but  he  v/ould  have  them  know,  that  God  deliv- 
ered him  up  too,  Acts  iii.  17,  18.  "  For,"  says  he,  brethren, 
"  through  ignorance  you  did  it;  but  those  things  that  God  before 
had  shown  by  the  mouth  of  all  his  prophets,  that  Christ  should 
sutler,  he  has  so  fulfilled:"  It  is  a  large  compass  that  he  takes 
in  his  affirmation,  to  make  it  tlie  doctrine  of  all  the  prophets; 
and  yet  you  find  he  does  not  flinch  from  what  he  had  said,  but 
tells  them  over  again,  "  that  all  the  prophets  from  Samuel,  and 
those  that  followed  after,  have  foretold  of  these  days,"  ver.  24. 

David  speaks  concerning  him,  that  "  his  soul  was  not  left  in 
hell,"  Acts  ii.  25,  which  intimates  that  it  was  laid  there;  that 
his  sufterings  were  of  such  a  nature  as  to  be  thus  expressed. 
When  our  Lord  opened  the  Scriptures  to  the  disciples,  who 
were  going  to  Emmaus,  he  did  it  out  of  the  law  of  Moses  and 
the  Prophets,  and  the  book  of  Psalms,  Luke  xxiv.  45,  46, 
proving  from  all  of  them,  that  Christ  "  must  needs  have  suf- 
fered," Acts  xvii.  3,  and  entered  into  his  glory;  that  it  behoved 
him,  he  could  not  do  otherv/ise. 

It  is  plain  from  the  established  songs  of  Zion,  that  our  praises 
are  owing  to  "the  Lamb  that  was  slain,"  Rev.  v.  9.  He  was 
to  be  "  poor  and  needy  before  the  Lord  set  him  up  on  high," 
Psal.  Ixix.  29.  It  was  by  the  mouth  of  his  servant  David  he 
said  "  Sacrifice  and  offering  thou  wouldest  not,  but  mine  ear 
hast  thou  opened''  Psal.  xl.  6,  or,  mine  ear  hast  thou  bored; 
that  is,  1  am  set  out  and  marked  to  be  thy  servant  for  ever:  I 
have  got  the  perpetual  badge.  The  equivalent  to  this  phrase 
in  the  New  Testament  is,  "  a  body  hast  thou  prepared  me," 
Heb.  X.  5,  6.  And  by  matching  the  one  of  these  to  the  other, 
we  see  that  with  "  the  fashion  of  a  man"  he  took  on  him  "  the 
form  of  a  servant:"  Phil.  ii.  7,  8,  preparing  him  a  body,  was 
boring  his  ear;  he  had  it  on  purpose  to  "learn  obedience  by  the 
things  that  he  suffered,"  Heb.  v.  7. 

David  also  speaks  of  his  "  drinking  of  the  brook  in  the  way," 
Psal.  ex.  7.  Our  poetical  translator  makes  no  more  of  it,  than 
that  he  should  stoop  to  mean  refreshments;  which  is,  I  think, 
a  mean  exposition,  and  carries  but  a  mean  refreshment  in  it  to 
the  faith  of  God's  people:  it  is  plainly  a  local  phrase;  and  re- 
lates to  the  sorrows  in  which  he  passed  over  the  brook  Kidron; 
the  place  that  had  been  so  bitter  to  David,  when  he  fled  from 
Absalom,  2  Sam.  xv.  23,  and  should  be  so  to  Christ,  when  he 
was  falling  into  the  hands  of  Judas. 

Isaiah  did  not  only  "see  his  glory,"  John  xii.  11,  but  his 
"  sufferings,  and  spake  of  them;"  that  in  his  humiliation  "  he 
was  taken  away;  he  was  oppressed  and  afflicted,  brought  as  a 
lamb  to  the  slaughter;  and  as  a  sheep  before  the  shearers  is 
dumb,  so  he  opened  not  his  mouth:  He  was  taken  from  prison 


236  OF  Christ's  sufferings. 

and  judgment ;  cut  off  out  of  the  land  of  the  living:  for  the  trans- 
gressions of  ra^  people  was  he  stricken;  my  righteous  servant 
shall  justify  many;  for  he  shall  bear  their  iniquities:  he  poured 
out  his  soul  to  death,  he  bare  the  sins  of  many,  and  made  inter- 
cession for  the  transgressors,"  Isa.  liii.  3 — 8. 

Daniel  tells  us  plainly,  that  "  the  Messiah  shall  be  cut  ofi',  but 
not  for  himself;  that  in  the  midst  of  the  week  he  shall  die," 
Dan.  ix.  26.  Zechariah  speaks  of  the  sword  drawn  against 
"  one  who  is  God's  fellow,"  Zech.  xiii.  7,  the  same  thing  that 
the  apostle  says;  that  "being  in  the  form  of  God,  he  became 
obedient  to  death,"  Phil.  ii.  6,  7.  He  is  express  upon  this  head, 
that  "  they  shall  look  on  him  whom  they  have  pierced,"  Zech. 
xii.  10.  And  what  shall  I  more  say?  the  time  would  fail  me, 
to  speak  of  all  those  who  have  been  preachers  of  the  righteous- 
ness that  is  by  faith.  It  was  in  accomplishment  of  this  design 
that  one  of  the  soldiers  "  run  a  spear  into  his  side,  and  forthwith 
came  out  blood  and  water,"  John  xix.  34. 

6.  It  is  the  thing  that  Christ  himself  was  apprised  of,  and 
consented  to.  "  Lo,  I  come,  saith  he;  in  the  volume  of  the  book 
it  is  written  of  me."  The  apostle  has  a  great  remark  upon  the 
connexion  of  these  words;  "That  above,  when  he  had  said, 
Sacrifice  and  burnt-offering  for  sin,  thou  wouldest  not;  then 
said  he,  Lo,  I  come  to  do  thy  will,  0  God;  he  takes  away  the 
first,  that  he  may  establish  the  second,"  Heb.  x.  7 — 10,  that  is 
the  first  appointment  of  sacrifice  and  burnt-offering,  that  he  may 
establish  the  second,  his  own  designation  to  slaughter;  and  "  by 
this  will  we  are  sanctified,  through  the  offering  of  the  body  of 
Jesus,  once  for  all:"  as  if  this  was  the  main  will  of  God,  the 
things  that  he  insisted  on,  and  to  which  our  blessed  Saviour  paid 
his  homage  at  last;  when  he  said,  "Not  my  will,  but  thine  be 
done."  He  became  incarnate  that  he  might  become  obedient, 
as  will  appear  from  the  next  head. 

7.  The  human  nature  of  Christ  was  prepared,  and  disposed 
for  these  sufferings:  his  whole  life  was  cast  into  such  a  mould 
of  providence,  that  from  the  beginning  to  the  end,  he  was  to  be 
"  despised  and  rejected  of  men,"  Isa.  liii.  2.  As  David  knew, 
that  of  the  fruit  of  his  loins,  "  God  would  raise  up  Christ  to  sit 
on  his  throne,"  Acts  ii.  30,  so  we  should  think  the  son  of  David 
would  array  himself  with  glory  and  majesty,  and  cast  abroad  his 
eyes  upon  every  one  that  is  proud,  and  abase  him;  but  instead 
of  that,  he  seems  to  have  no  relation  to  David's  throne,  but 
rather  to  "  all  his  afflictions;"  a  "  reproach  to  his  acquaintance," 
and  a  "shaking  of  the  head  to  all  the  people,"  Psal.  cxxxii.  1. 

He  conversed  with  places  where  they  gave  him  no  respect; 
he  chose  to  live  as  a  prophet  "  without  honour,  in  his  own 
country,"  Luke  iv.  24.  He  came  from  Nazareth,  out  of  which 
no  good  thing  was  ever  supposed  to  come,  John  i.  46.  He 
lived  in  Galilee,  out  of  which  there  arose  no  jn-ophet,  chapter 


OF  Christ's  sufferings.  237 

vii.  52.  Both  his  town  and  his  country  were  of  no  repute. 
He  asks  water  to  drink  of  a  Samaritan  woman,  John  iv.  8, 
which  any  Jew  besides  himself  would  have  thought  a  dishonour. 
He  was  so  hungry,  as  to  seek  fruit  on  a  fig-tree  upon  the  road, 
and  to  go  empty  away:  as  if  he  had  laid  out  for  shame  and 
grief,  and  determined,  quite  through  his  life,  to  make  himself 
of  "  no  reputation,"  Phil.  ii.  7. 

He  had  our  nature  in  all  the  tender  sensations.  Reproach 
had  broken  his  heart,  by  the  contradiction  of  sinners  against 
himself,  Psal.  Ixix.  20.  He  was  "  sorrowful  and  sore  vexed," 
Heb,  xii.  3;  his  body  was  too  weak  to  bear  the  cross;  he  falls 
under  it,  "  fainting  in  the  day  of  adversity,  to  show  that  his 
strength  was  small,"  He  had  nature  in  all  its  feeling;  every 
power  that  was  able  to  receive  a  torture,  all  the  capacities  of 
misery.  Crucifixion  might  deaden  the  other  two  by  degrees; 
the  more  they  spent,  the  less  they  felt.  But  he  died,  as  it  were, 
m  full  hfe ;  and  the  moment  he  gave  out  a  loud  voice,  he  gave 
lip  his  spirit  too:  so  that,  it  is  evident,  he  was  made  to  be 
"  stricken,  smitten  of  God,  and  afflicted,"  Isa.  liii.  4.  Not  a 
softening  article  in  all  the  case,  but  the  very  dregs  of  wrath. 
There  was  no  sorrow  like  to  his  sorrow. 

8.  He  kept  off  his  troubles  till  the  appointed  time  came. 
Though  I  do  not  give  you  this  as  a  full  argument,  yet  you  will 
easily  see  it  opens  the  way  to  it.  He  had  it  always  in  his  power 
to  control  or  escape  the  whole  wrath  of  man.  When  they  took 
him  to  the  brow  of  the  hill,  Luke  iv.  29,  on  which  the  city  was 
built,  with  a  design  to  throw  him  down  headlong,  though  he  was 
upon  the  brink  of  ruin,  he  comes  quietly  away.  When  the 
officers  went  to  take  him,  he  tied  their  hands  with  what  he  said, 
John  vii.  45,  46,  and  they  who  were  to  be  rulers  of  his  person, 
were  captives  to  his  speeches.  When  his  enemies  had  worked 
themselves  and  the  people  into  a  common  rage,  he  did  by  that 
storm  as  he  did  by  others;  he  said  Peace,  he  still,  and  it  ceased 
in  a  moment.  When  great  multitudes  went  out  to  take  him, 
"  no  man  laid  hands  on  him,  because  his  hour  was  not  yet 
come,"  John  viii,  20. 

The  amount  of  the  examples  is  what  he  tells  us,  that  "  no 
man  can  take  away  my  life  from  me:  I  have  power  to  lay  it 
down,  and  power  to  take  it  again,"  chap.  x.  IS.  And  to  this 
you  may  add,  his  assurance  of  help  from  above,  if  ever  he  de- 
sired it:  but  he  gives  it  as  the  reason  of  his  being  so  resigned, 
because  it  was  of  a  divine  appointment.  Thus  he  argues  with 
Peter ;  "  Thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot  pray  to  the  Father,  and  he 
will  presently  give  me  more  than  twelve  legions  of  angels  ?  But 
how  then  shall  the  Scriptures  be  fulfilled,  that  thus  it  must  be  ?" 

9.  These  sufferings  are  what  he  loent  out  to  meet :  he  thouglit 
it  his  duty  to  do  so.  When  he  speaks  of  his  being  betrayed, 
forsaken,  condemned  and  crucified ;  he  says,  <•'  that  the  world 


238  OF  Christ's  sufferings. 

may  know  I  love  the  Father;  As  the  Father  gave  me  com- 
mandment, so  I  do;  arise,  and  let  us  go  hence,"  John  xiv.  31. 
It  is  under  this  control  that  lie  prays  and  cries,  "  Father,  let  this 
hour  pass  from  me;  nevertheless,  for  this  cause  came  I  to  this 
hour,"  chap.  xii.  26,  that  is,  "  There  is  nothing  in  this  hour 
which  I  so  dread,  but  what  ought  to  be  there.  It  is  the  enemies' 
hour,  and  the  power  of  darkness,  a  day  of  darkness  and  gloomi- 
ness, of  clouds  and  thick  darkness."  The  sun  shrunk  in,  as  if 
nature  itself  would  do  nothing  to  hinder  the  whole  power  of 
darkness.  Yet  in  all  this  he  only  went  as  it  was  written  of 
him;  nor  was  there  any  thing  that  could  be  surprising  to  him, 
either  unseen  or  unchosen.  He  submitted  to  it  all.  His  last 
action  was  to  bow  the  head,  that  he  might  die  in  the  posture  of 
a  willing  servant. 

10.  There  is  to  be  an  eternal  memorial  of  these  things  in 
heaven,  which  shows  the  design  was  laid  in  the  place,  where 
it  shall  be  ever  admired.  The  offence  of  the  cross  is  ceased  to 
them  above:  they  are  no  more  ashamed  of  it,  than  they  are 
enemies  to  it,  but  weave  it  into  all  their  praises.  When  they 
speak  of  Jesus,  as  the  "faithful  Witness,  the  Prince  of  the  kings 
of  the  earth,"  you  may  say,  "  Holy  and  reverend  is  his  name:" 
but  they  do  not  forget  that  he  is  the  "  first  begotten  from  the 
dead;"  and  from  that  title  there  gushes  out  an  adoration;  "  To 
him  that  loved  us,  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  own 
blood,  be  glory  and  dominion  for  ever,"  Rev.  i.  5,  6. 

Thus  the  happy  throng  that  are  about  him,  from  every  part 
of  the  grand  circle,  give  in  their  praises;  "  Thou  wast  slain,  and 
hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy  blood,  out  of  every  kindred, 
and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation,"  Rev.  v.  9.  Nay,  the 
angels  themselves,  those  morning  stars,  sing  at  our  redemption, 
as  they  did  at  our  creation;  "Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was 
slain,  to  receive  honour,  power,  strength,  salvation,  glory,  and 
blessing,"  ver.  11,  12. 


SERMON  III. 

Romans  viii.  32, — He  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for  us  all. 

The  last  thing  to  be  considered  in  these  words,  is  the  great  end 
upon  which  our  Saviour  became  "  obedient  to  death,  even  the 
death  of  the  cross,"  Pliil.  ii.  6,  and  that  by  the  appointment  of 
the  Father.  JVhy  did  not  God  spare  his  own  Son,  but  deliver 
him  up  ?  What  design  had  he  in  a  scheme  so  full  of  wonder, 
and  so  full  of  horror?     What  means  the  heat  of  this  areat 


OF  Christ's  sufferings.  239 

anger?  Now,  the  text  I  am  upon  abounds  with  hght  as  well 
as  comfort ;  it  was  for  us  all. 

There  is  no  cloud  upon  the  sentence:  it  is  not  to  be  num- 
bered among  the  things  that  are  hard  to  be  understood,  2  Pet. 
iii.  16,  and  therefore  why  should  any  endeavour  to  pervert  the 
words  of  peace  and  truth,  which  contain  in  them  so  much  of 
good  will  towards  men?  Luke  ii.  14;  because  there  is  nothing 
got  by  it.  To  deny  the  satisfaction  that  Christ  has  made,  is  a 
robbery  upon  God,  and  a  murder  to  his  people:  it  is  destroying 
the  "grace  wherein  we  stand,"  Rom.  v.  2. 

That  I  am  a  sinner,  is  so  true,  that  there  is  no  pretence  to 
doubt  it ;  that  by  this  God  is  angry,  is  a  matter  beyond  all  dis- 
pute; that  without  his  favour  I  can  have  no  hope  of  escaping 
the  wrath  to  come,  is  very  certain:  now,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed 
that  he  will  be  gracious  to  me  with  any  injury  to  himself;  but, 
if  I  am  saved,  as  it  will  be  to  the  glory  of  his  mercy,  so  there 
must  be  no  dishonour  upon  any  other  attribute:  therefore  some 
way  or  other  he  must  be  "faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our 
sins,"  1  John  i.  9.  He  will  be  "  well  pleased  for  his  righteous- 
ness' sake:  he  will  magnify  the  law,  and  make  it  honourable," 
Isa.  xhi.  21.  It  is  not  enough  that  there  is  "the  forbearance 
of  God  in  the  remission  of  sins  that  are  past,"  Rom.  iii.  25,  but 
"  he  declares  his  righteousness;"  he  declares,  I  say,  at  this  time, 
in  tlie  moment  of  pardon,  his  righteousness,  "  that  he  may  be 
just,  and  the  justifier  of  him  that  believes  in  Jesus." 

And  if  this  is  to  be  the  case,  there  is  but  one  of  these  two 
ways  for  it,  either  by  relaxing  the  punishment,  and  erasing  what 
is  threatened,  or  by  insisting  upon  it,  and  executing  the  fierce- 
ness of  his  wrath.  The  former  of  these  is  so  very  inglorious  to 
God,  that  it  cannot  be  admitted  without  a  suspicion  of  weakness. 
Men  are  oftentimes  obliged  to  acts  of  grace,  to  reverse  a  sen- 
tence, and  dismiss  a  criminal;  and  it  is  not  so  much  an  argument 
of  their  goodness,  as  of  their  imperfection.  They  could  not  in 
the  making  of  their  laws  foresee  the  necessity  there  would  be 
of  dropping  them;  and  in  many  cases,  it  is  more  their  interest 
to  release  an  olTender,  than  it  is  to  destroy  him.  They  pardon 
because  they  cannot  help  it,  and  drop  the  terrors  that  they  dare 
not  execute:  and  so  their  laws  are  often  repealed  or  dispensed 
with,  and  the  penalties  they  declare  are  no  more  than  the  "  blast 
of  a  terrible  one,"  a  mere  "  storm  against  a  wall,"  Isa.  xxv.  4. 

But  all  these  shuffling  ways  are  dishonourable  to  him,  who 
'•'is  the  rock,  and  his  work  is  perfect;  a  God  of  truth,  and  with- 
out iniquity,  just  and  right  is  he,"  Deut.  xxxii.  4.  If  his  law 
is  what  he  will  not  execute,  to  what  purpose  did  he  give  it } 
Either  he  foreknew  the  sentence  would  be  discharged,  or  he  did 
not.  To  say  he  did  not,  but  that  several  things  happen  in  the 
course  of  life  that  he  could  not  foresee,  is  to  deny  that  his  un- 
derstanding is  infinite,  Psal.  cxlvii.  5;  for,  '\{  he  is  the  Father 


240  OF  Christ's  sufferings. 

of  lights,  he  must  be  without  any  variableness  or  shadow  of 
turning,  James  i.  17. 

And  then  if  he  really  knew  that  here  was  a  threatening  added 
that  would  never  be  accomplished,  why  should  so  rash  a  word 
come  out  of  his  mouth?  That  be  far  from  the  Judge  of  all  the 
earth,  Gen.  xviii,  25,  to  trifle  with  his  creatures;  or  to  make  the 
terrible  things  that  he  says  in  righteousness,  a  great  noise  about 
nothing.  The  Lord  is  righteous,  Psal.  Ixv.  5,  both  in  giving 
the  command,  and  in  taking  vengeance:  it  is  ever  true  of  our 
God,  and  ever  glorious  to  him,  that  "  he  will  by  no  means  clear 
the  guilty,"  Exod.  xxxiv.  17. 

Now,  if  there  is  a  satisfaction  to  be  made,  upon  the  ground 
of  which  we  are  pardoned,  it  must  be  either  by  ourselves,  or  by 
a  surety;  either  ive  or  he  are  to  find  out  a  ransom.  If  ive  can 
do  it,  it  must  be  only  one  of  these  two  ways,  either  by  our  active 
or  passive  obedience.  Our  active  obedience,  though  we  were 
able  to  make  it  perfect,  is  no  more  than  it  ought  to  be :  it  may 
reach  to  the  demands  of  the  law,  but  not  to  the  breaches  of  it. 
Doing  a  present  work,  is  no  discharge  to  a  former  debt :  duty 
can  never  be  an  atonement  for  sin.  "  He  that  offends  in  one 
point,  is  guilty  of  all,"  James  ii.  10.  And  if  a  person  does  not 
"continue  in  all  things  that  are  written  in  the  book  of  the  law, 
he  is  accursed,"  Gal.  iii.  10.  A  single  failure  in  a  single  article 
lays  him  under  a  condemnation. 

To  say  that  he  accepts  of  what  we  ought  to  do,  as  an  equiva- 
lent to  what  we  ought  to  suffer,  is  to  m,ake  void  the  law,  -Rom. 
iii.  30,  and  God  forbid  that  we  should  do  so;  for  if  my  duty  is 
to  answer  all  the  ends  of  my  punishment,  it  confounds  the  whole 
nature  of  actions:  nor  can  it  be  a  rational  scheme,  without  sup- 
posing that  the  punishment  is  quite  abolished;  and  that  amounts 
to  no  less  than  if  we  should  sa^^,  that  God's  justice  is  an  attribute 
to  be  totally  neglected;  that  though  all  the  rest  of  them  should 
sit  upon  a  throne  of  glory,  yet  this  is  cast  out  like  the  king  of 
Babylon,  "  as  an  abominable  branch,"  Isa.  xiv.  19,  as  a  perfec- 
tion no  longer  to  be  regarded.  But  this  will  never  pass  in  hea- 
ven, where  the  method  of  praise  is  already  settled :  "  Just  and 
true  are  all  thy  ways,  thou  King  of  saints,"  Rev.  xv.  3.  "  The 
heavens  shall  declare  his  righteousness,"  Psal.  xcvii.  6 ;  he  will 
always  appear  to  be  "the  holy  and  the  just  One."  And  as 
"  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord,"  Isa,  liii.  6,  has  prospered  in  the  hand 
of  Christ,  so  one  head  of  that  pleasure  is  "  for  his  righteousness' 
sake,"  Isa.  xlii.  21. 

So  that,  I  take  it  for  granted,  our  salvation  is,  some  way  or 
other,  become  a  righteous  thing  with  God,  what  he  does  with 
a  reputation  to  his  equity.  As  tve  have  sinned,  Rom.  iii.  23, 
and  that  sin  is  the  transgression  of  the  laiv,  1  John  iii.  4,  so  the 
law  is  to  be  magnified  when  the  sin  is  pardoned:  that  can  never 
be  by  our  obedience;  for,  whatever  law  it  is  that  gives  hfe, 


OF  Christ's  sufferings.  241 

<'  verily  righteousness  is  to  be  by  that  law,"  Gal.  iii.  21.  It  must 
ihen  be  by  our  punishment ;  and  there  are  but  two  ways  of 
allowing  tiiis,  which  I  believe  will  appear  to  be  equally  trifling. 

If  the  punishment  is  complete,  there  is  no  pardon  for  us:  if  it 
is  not,  there  is  no  satisfaction  to  God.  As  duty  consists  in  all 
that  the  law  commands,  so  vengeance  comprehends  all  that  the 
law  has  threatened. 

To  talk  of  God's  accepting  our  imperfect  obedience,  instead 
of  what  he  has  required,  is  to  make  him  guilty  of  breaking  the 
law,  as  well  as  us:  we  do  it  by  a  disobedieuce,  and  he  by  a  dis- 
pensation. And  to  say  that  he  will  receive  an  imperfect  pun- 
ishment, instead  of  what  he  has  spoken  of,  makes  the  threaten- 
ing no  more  than  great  swelling  words  of  vanity,  mere  wind 
and  bluster, 

I  can,  therefore,  with  all  the  use  of  my  reason,  see  nothing 
but  a  heap  of  briers  and  thorns,  a  long  train  of  entanglement, 
in  denying  the  satisfaction  of  Christ ;  I  must  suppose  that  God 
made  a  law,  which  afterwards  he  thought  fit  to  drop ;  that  he 
published  a  threatening  without  any  design  of  an  execution ; 
and  that  had  he  foreseen  the  difficulty,  he  would  never  have 
done  it;  with  all  the  knotty  twisted  perplexities  that  follow,  that 
he  is  changeable,  undetermined,  7iot  of  one  mmr/,  Job  xxhi.  13, 
but  that  any  may  turn  him. 

Or  I  must  thiiik,  on  the  other  hand,  that  he  has  treated  the 
law  as  an  institution,  and  his  justice  as  an  attribute;  and  that 
the  reparation  he  has  made  to  the  one,  and  the  honour  he  has 
given  to  the  other,  is  by  "the  obedience  of  that  one  Man,  through 
whom  many  are  made  righteous,"  Rom.  v.  19.  No  "tittle  of 
the  law  is  to  fail,"  Matt.  v.  18,  not  a  grain  of  the  threatening  is 
to  be  lost.  Had  the  execution  fallen  upon  us,  there  could  be 
no  pardon,  and  therefore  it  must  be  upon  another:  and  we  are 
"delivered  from  going  down  to  the  pit,  because  he  has  found  a 
ransom,"  Job  xxxiii.  24.  But  I  shall  have  room  enough,  with- 
in the  verge  of  this  text,  to  clear  up  the  doctrine  contained  in  it. 

I  would  observe,  that  it  is  all  revelation  from  first  to  last. 
The  things  that  we  meet  with  here,  are  not  ivhat  man's  ivis- 
dom  teaches,  1  Cor.  ii.  4.  It  is  above  the  light  of  nature,  and 
either  the  invention  or  the  capacity  of  reason;  that  can  neither 
contrive  nor  receive  it.  The  day  spring,  by  which  we  have  the 
discovery,  came  from  on  high,  Luke  i.  78.  Every  part  of  the 
proposition  is  the  pure  mystery  of  God,  Rev.  xi.,  which  comes 
from  the  opening  of  the  temple  in  heaven. 

First,  It  is  one  of  those  things  that  we  could  never  have 
known,  that  there  was  such  a  person  as  God's  oivn  Son.  Sup- 
posing that  nature  and  reason  could  have  worked  it  out  by  a 
laborious  argument,  that  "there  is  an  eternal  power  and  God- 
head," Rom.  i.  20,  that  it  is  "he  who  gathers  the  wind  in  his 
fist,  and  binds  up  the  waters  in  a  garment;"  yet  "'  what  is  his 

31 


242  OF  Christ's  sufferings. 

name,  and  what  is  his  Son's  name?  if  thou  canst  tell,"  Prov. 
XXX.  4.  That  there  was  "•one  always  with  him,  daily  his 
delight,"  Prov.  viii.  30,  "  the  brightness  of  his  glory,"  Rom.  xi. 
33,  "the  only  begotten  of  the  Father,"  John  i.  18;  these  are 
titles  that  this  world  would  never  have  heard  of,  if  they  were 
not  revealed  from  another. 

Secondly,  It  is  no  less  amazing,  when  we  read  of  his  own 
Son,  that  instead  of  being  told  on  earth  what  is  always  seen 
in  heaven,  that  he  lies  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  it  should  be 
said.  He  did  not  spare  him.  The  account  given  us  of  a  Son, 
is  no  other  than  what  agrees  to  an  enemy,  a  rebel,  a  son  that 
causeth  shame:  that  he  who  is  the  Prince  of  life  in  nature, 
Acts  iii.  15,  should  be  subject  to  death  by  Providence;  ''  0  the 
depth  of  the  riches  of  God!  How  unsearchable  are  his  judg- 
ments," Rom.  xi.  33. 

Thirdly,  It  is  still  further  out  of  our  depth,  that  one  hated 
by  his  nation,  envied  by  his  rivals,  deserted  by  his  friends,  be- 
trayed by  men,  and  insulted  by  devils,  should  have  this  whole 
calamity  devolved  upon  him  by  a  divine  appointment:  that  the 
Father  of  mercies,  instead  of  protecting  him  from  the  wicked- 
ness of  the  age,  should  deliver  him  up  to  it.  Here  are  counsels 
and  decrees,  predictions  and  figures,  orders  and  resolutions,  that 
thus  it  must  be:  it  is  not  possible  that  the  cup  should  pass  from 
him,  but  the  will  of  the  Lord  shall  be  done:  and  as  we  are  en- 
compassed on  every  side  with  his  marvellous  works,  the  last  is 
of  a  piece  with  all  the  rest ;  that  is. 

Fourthly,  That  this  should  be  for  vs.  His  sufferings  are 
considered  as  ours;  in  order  to  which  our  guilt  is  regarded  as 
if  it  was  his:  "He  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew  no 
sin,  that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him." 
2  Cor.  V.  21.  If  men  object  against  this  part  of  the  doctrine, 
they  had  as  good  to  do  it  against  all  the  other.  And,  indeed, 
there  are  two  things  that  may  be  observed  in  the  whole  scheme 
of  revelation. 

1st.  That  quite  through  the  projected  way,  there  is  a  pure  and 
perpetual  tribute  of  glory  to  God:  he  does  it  all  that  he  alone 
may  have  the  praise.  For  this  reason,  the  Son  is  the  person, 
his  death  is  the  price,  a  divine  decree  is  the  establishment,  and 
a  divine  imputation  the  effect.  We  have  no  share  in  finding  the 
surety,  or  bearing  the  burden,  or  fixing  the  appointment,  or  giv- 
ing the  pardon.  "  God  is  all  and  in  all,"  1  Cor.  xv.  2S.  And 
as  he  did  it  in  no  other  view  than  of  his  own  glory,  so  it  shall 
have  no  other  event.  He  did  it  by  himself;  he  did  it  for  him- 
self. "  We  are  to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his  grace,  wherein  he 
has  made  us  accepted  in  the  Beloved,"  Eph.  i.  6. 

2dly.  There  is  nothing  can  be  more  opposite  to  the  nature  of 
man.  His  first  iniquity  was  a  falling  off  from  God,  and  his  pre- 
sent corruption  is  only  that  apostasy  continued;  a  sliding  back 


OF  Christ's  sufferings.  243 

by  a  perpetual  backsliding.  They  would  be  o.^  Gods,  Gen.  iii. 
5,  and  nothing  can  be  more  against  the  grain,  than  to  tell  them, 
that  11  ever  they  are  saved,  it  must  be  as  creatures;  for  whicli 
reason  you  see  all  the  powers  of  nature  in  an  uproar,  not  only 
against  the  law  of  God,  but  against  his  gospel. 

The  apostle  has  ranged  the  principles  of  infidelity  in  order: 
they  begin  with  an  opposition  to  the  person  who  comes  to  save 
us:  they  "trample  under  foot  the  Son  of  God,"  Ileb.  x.  29,  de- 
nying his  Deity  when  they  dare,  and  concealing  it  when  they 
dare  not;  sometimes  making  it  a  falsehood,  sometimes  a  figure, 
and  sometimes  an  impertinence :  and  as  they  are  in  the  way  of 
rebelling,  they  go  on  to  count  the  blood  of  the  covenaiit  an 
unholy,  or  common  thing;  as  if  it  was  not  enough  to  take 
away'his  Deity,  unless,  at  the  same  time,  they  profaned  his  sa- 
crifice :  and,  lastly,  that  the  notion  may  run  into  practice,  ''They 
do  despite  to  the  Spirit  of  grace." 

In  what  I  have  already  considered,  the  text  gives  us  plain 
matter  of  fact, 

1.  That  he  who  came  to  save  us  is  the  Son  of  God;  that  is, 
One  equal  to  the  Father  in  nature ;  but,  to  wave  all  that,  and 
give  a  little  scope  to  our  argument,  he  was  certainly  equal  in 
holiness;  "  He  did  no  sin,  neither  was  guile  in  his  mouth,"  1  Pet. 
ii.  22.  He  was  harmless  in  his  actions,  undefilcd  in  his  person, 
Heb.  vii.  26,  and  yet, 

2.  That  he  had  all  the  miseries  that  were  ever  endured  by 
shame  and  trouble ;  a  terror  of  soul,  and  a  torment  of  body,  and 
that  without  any  allay;  as  if  he  must  wring  out  the  very  dregs 
of  wrath,  and  have  the  last  drop  of  the  cup  of  trembling,  Psal. 
Ixxv.  8.  There  was  no  sorrow  like  to  his  sorroiu.  Very  often 
in  judgment  "  God  remembers  mercy,"  Hab.  iii.  2,  but  here  he 
had  "  forgotten  to  be  gracious,"  Psal.  Ixxvii.  9,  and  to  his  own 
Son  had  shut  up  his  tender  mercies.  He  was  so  far  from  spa- 
ring him  from  his  agonies,  that  he  did  not  spare  him  in  them; 
his  mercy  was  clean  gone. 

3.  This  was  not  a  short  and  sudden  thing;  he  does  not  use 
him  as  we  should  have  expected  he  would  have  done  a  dear 
Son,  a  pleasant  child,  in  speaking  against  him  for  a  moment, 
Jer.  xxxi.  20,  but  he  is  delivered  up  in  a  decree  that  was  slow, 
and  big,  and  pained  to  bring  forth. 

Now,  if  the  best  person  is  to  have  the  worst  lot,  and  that  by 
a  righteous  appointment,  what  was  it  for?  The  question  brings 
us  into  a  narrow  compass;  we  are  inclosed;  here  is  a  wall  on 
either  side,  there  is  no  turning  to  the  right  hand,  or  to  the  left, 
Numb.  xxii.  26.  We  cannot  say  any  thing  against  the /ac/; 
and  therefore  what  can  we  say  about  the  cause?  If  the  answer 
of  the  apostle  will  not  be  taken,  I  do  not  see  but  we  must  go 
without  one.  If  it  is  not /or  us  all,  it  is  impossible  to  say  what 
it  is  for.     Let  us  therefore  oblige  those  whose  notions  make 


244  OF  Christ's  sufferings. 

them  enemies  to  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  suppose  there  was  no 
salvation  of  a  chosen  people  to  be  obtained  this  \vay.  Let  our 
imaginations  do  as  the  dove  did,  when  it  flew  out  of  Noah's  ark, 
Gen.  viii.  9,  rove,  and  soar,  and  wander  about,  and  try  if  there 
is  any  rest  for  the  sole  of  the  foot,  besides  what  the  Holy  Spirit 
has  given  us. 

1.  Will  any  say  that  God  punishes  in  an  arbitrary  loay,  that 
Jie  afflicts  willingly  and  grieves  the  children  ofinen?  Lam.  iii. 
33;  that  when  these  miseries  came  rolling  upon  Christ,  he  had 
uo  regard  to  sin  at  all?  that  "  he  will  destroy  the  perfect  and  the 
wicked,  and  laugh  at  the  trial  of  the  innocent?"  Job  ix.  22,  23. 
This  I  hope,  v:e  shall  not  dare  to  do,  nor  they  with  whom  we 
differ,  because  it  is  as  contrary  to  their  error,  as  it  is  to  the  truth 
itself.  They  give  out  themselves  to  be  the  advocates  of  the  di- 
vine mercy,  and  put  this  compliment  upon  their  scheme,  that  it 
proclaims  the  Lord  to  be  gracious.  Well,  if  so,  he  can  take  no 
pleasure  in  the  misery  of  his  creatures. 

This  is  saying  worse  of  the  gospel,  than  we  can  say  of  death 
and  daynnation,  Jude  7.  They  in  hell  do  know  that  the  ven- 
geance of  eternal  fire  is  for  the  punishment  of  sin :  and  that  any 
one  should  endure  what  they  do  for  nothing  at  all,  that  this 
should  be  the  lot  of  him,  who  "knew  no  sin,"  2  Cor.  v.  21,  is 
as  much  against  the  honour  of  his  goodness,  as  it  is  of  his  jus- 
tice: For, 

2.  There  will  be  no  pretence  that  he  has  any  iniquity  of  his 
own  that  made  him  liable  to  it.  The  prophet  tells  us,  that  when 
the  Messiah  is  cut  off,  it  is  not  for  himself,  Dan.  ix.  26,  and  I 
am  persuaded  this  is  a  point  that  nobody  will  dispute  with  him. 
The  Jews  had  really  more  excuse  for  themselves,  than  we  can 
have  iox  providence,  if  you  do  not  comprehend  in  the  death  of 
Christ  the  sin  of  his  people.  They  say  to  Pilate,  "  if  he  were 
not  a  malefactor,  we  would  not  have  delivered  him  to  thee," 
Johfi  xvin.  30.  Thus  they  thought,  thus  they  believed;  through 
ignorance  they  did  it,  Acts  iii.  17.  But  such  a  word  as  this 
could  never  come  from  the  mouth  of  divine  justice.  God  knew 
his  innocence,  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  mistake  it;  and  there- 
fore though  he  is  made  an  offering  for  sin,  it  cannot  be  for  his 
own.  He  declared  him  to  be  a  righteous  servant,  even  when 
he  appointed  him  to  bear  our  iiiiquities,  Isa.  liii.  11. 

3.  Was  it  needful  that  he  should  be  thus  used  to  "  teach  him 
obedience  by  the  things  that  he  suffered?"  Heb.  v.  7.  Many  of 
the  saints  are  destitute,  afflicted,  and  tormented,  Heb.  xi.  37, 
and  God  throws  them  into  that  lot,  for  the  trial  and  the  lustre  of 
their  graces,  that  they  may  appear  true,  and  may  grow  perfect. 
Thus  when  we  hear  of  the  patience  of  Job,  we  see  the  end  of 
the  Lord,  James  v.  11.  That  good  man  wanted  to  be  made 
better:  and,  upon  the  whole,  the  Lord  was  very  pitiful,  and 
of  tender  mercy.     He  closed  up  the  dispensation  with  a  credit 


OF  Christ's  sufferings.  245 

to  himself,  and  with  an  improvement  to  his  servant.  Till  the 
end  of  his  troubles,  he  had  only  "heard  of  God,  by  the  hearing 
of  the  ear;  but  then  his  eye  saw  him,  upon  which  he  abhorred 
himself,  and  repented  in  dust  and  ashes,"  Job  xlii.  3,  6. 

But  was  there  any  thing  of  this  pity  and  tender  mercy  in 
the  death  of  Christ?  Did  the  Lord  turn  again  his  captivity? 
Did  he  save  him  from  death?  No:  he  not  only  left  him  to  his 
enemies'  hands,  but  left  him  in  them;  he  then  forsook  him. 
And, 

Was  there  any  occasion  for  Christ  to  learn  more  of  God,  to 
see  him  better  than  he  had  done?  No  surely.  The  Messiah 
was  not  cut  off  either  for  the  punishment  of  his  sins,  or  the  im- 
provement of  his  graces;  and  therefore  his  being  thus  delivered 
wa.s  for  Its  all;  as  God  says,  "  For  the  transgression  of  my  peo- 
ple was  he  stricken,"  Isa.  liii.  8.  There  are  two  things  that  I 
would  observe  here : 

1.  The  substitution  of  his  person;  he  was  given  tip  for  us^  to 
suffer  what  we  should. 

2.  The  extent  of  his  design,  that  it  is  for  us  all;  "  the  house- 
hold of  faith,"  Gal.  vi.  10,  "the  whole  family  in  earth  and  hea- 
ven," Eph.  iii.  15. 

1.  The  words  are  as  plain  as  any  exposition  can  make  them; 
he  gave  himself  up  for  us  all.  There  is  no  eastern  figure,  or 
outlandish  form  of  speech;  no  peculiarities  or  idioms,  of  which 
we  are  to  fetch  the  sense  from  afar.  We  may  understand  the 
phrase  without  any  vain  knowledge,  or  "filling  our  belly  with 
the  east  wind,"  Job  xv.  2.  That  he  died  is  certain,  that  it  was 
not  for  himself,  is  evident.  To  deny  the  former  is  to  lie  against 
all  history;  to  affirm  the  latter  is  to  blaspheme  against  all  good- 
ness. And  therefore  it  is  fur  us;  that  is,  for  those  who  are  his, 
"whom  the  Father  had  given  him,"  John  vi.  37,  his  children, 
his  charge.  It  was  either  for  our  sins,  that  he  bore  the  punish- 
ment that  was  due  to  us,  or  only  for  our  example,  that  we 
might  act  as  he  did.  They  who  are  against  the  former,  intrench 
themselves  within  the  latter:  I  shall  therefore  give  up  my 
thoughts  to  these  two  things: 

First,  Show  you  the  force  and  wickedness  of  the  one  inter- 
pretation.    And, 

Secondly,  The  necessity,  clearness,  and  comfort  of  the  other. 

1.  Let  us  see  how  far  we  are  able  to  go  with  this  exposition, 
that  the  death  of  Christ  was  for  our  example  only;  that  w^e 
may  be  taught  of  him  to  be  so  patient  to  men,  so  resigned  to 
God,  so  loose  from  this  world,  and  so  pressing  to  another.  That 
we  are  to  learn  of  him,  is  true,  and  imitate  his  behaviour,  who 
"  when  he  was  reviled,  reviled  not  again,  and  when  he  sullered, 
threatened  not,  but  committed  himself  to  him  that  judgeth  right- 
eously," 1  Pet.  ii.  23.  The  question  is  not,  whether  this  is  a  part 
of  his  design  in  dying,  but  whether  it  is  all?  Does  it  include  the 


246  OF  Christ's  sufferings. 

whole  counsel  of  God  in  that  article  ?  I  conceive  not ;  be- 
cause, 

(1.)  If  no  more  was  meant  by  it,  there  was  no  occasion  that 
the  Son  of  God  should  have  been  the  pattern,  or  so  great  an 
extremity  of  death,  the  copy.  A  lower  person,  and  more  abated 
agonies,  would  have  sufficiently  answered  the  end ;  had  he 
never  come  into  the  world  at  all,  we  should  have  been  "  encom- 
passed about  with  a  cloud  of  witnesses,"  Heb.  xii.  1,  "  My  bre- 
thren, we  might  have  taken  the  prophets  who  have  spoken  to 
us  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  for  an  example  of  suffering  affliction, 
and  of  patience,"  James  v.  10.  God  has  given  us  these  lessons 
in  abundance ;  the  Scripture  is  crowded  with  the  trials  of  that 
faith,  by  which  the  elders  have  obtained  a  good  report,  Heb. 
xi.  2,  and  they  that  follow  them  may  have  a  fair  copy:  so  that 
to  what  purpose  was  all  this  waste?  Why  should  God  do  a 
thing  that  might  have  been  spared,  without  any  damage  or 
scantiness  to  the  Bible? 

(2.)  I  cannot  think  that  he  was  an  example  in  the  svfferini^s 
themselves,  whatever  he  is  in  his  behaviour  under  them.  I  am 
sure  to  call  him  so,  is  the  most  dreadful  doctrine  that  ever  was 
preached  to  his  poor  afflicted  followers.  That  they  may  be  used 
as  he  was,  is  true,  and  that  they  ought  to  act  as  he  did,  in  many 
cases,  but  not  in  all  of  them.  There  are  several  important  ar- 
ticles in  his  trouble,  that  never  can  be  ours,  and  we  may  say 
with  comfort,  they  never  shall  be.     As, 

[1.]  The  necessity  of  a  submission  to  the  wrath  of  man.  He, 
indeed,  could  have  delivered  himself  from  the  unrighteous  sen- 
tence, and  he  did  not  do  it;  but  I  deny  that  this  is  our  duty.  If 
I  can  resist  an  unlawful  execution,  I  ought:  if  I  had  the  strength 
of  Samson,  I  am  bound  to  use  it  against  the  oppression  of  the 
enemy.  Christ  is  the  only  instance  of  passive  obedience  that 
ever  was,  or  ever  should  be.  He  who  made  them  fall  back- 
ivards  by  a.  ivord,  John  xviii.  6,  could  have  done  the  same  with 
the  arm  of  his  power,  the  right  hand  that  is  full  of  Majesty: 
but  thus  it  must  be  that  the  Scriptures  might  be  fulfilled.  The 
only  reason  why  the  people  of  God  did  not  wrest  themselves 
out  of  the  jaws  of  death,  was  because  they  could  not ;  so  that, 
in  this  particular,  he  is  no  example,  nor  has  he  obliged  us  to  be 
the  servants  ofi^ulers,  Isa.  xlix.  7. 

[2.]  His  bearing  the  wrath  of  God,  is  an  article  of  dying  pe- 
culiar to  himself.  He  is  no  example  this  way :  it  can  never  be 
said  of  any  martyr,  that  "  he  became  a  curse,"  Gal.  iii.  1 3.  God 
does  not  apply  to  any  of  tbem  what  the  sentence  of  the  law  has 
said  of  him,  "  Cursed  is  the  man  that  is  hanged  on  a  tree," 
Deut.  xxi.  23.  It  is  not  guilt  that  made  them  die;  there  is  no 
load  of  iniquity  upon  thetn,  as  there  was  upon  him  ;  they  satisfy 
no  law;  they  do  not  obtain  by  this  execution  any  pardon  for 
themselves,  much  less  for  others;  and  therefore, 


OF  Christ's  sufferings.  247 

[3.]  The  horror  that  lay  upon  liis  human  soul  at  that  time, 
is  a  tiling  in  which  he  was  so  for  from  being  our  Example,  that 
he  is  our  Deliverer,  They  shall  none  of  them  go  out  of  the 
world  as  he  did,  complaining  that  God  had  forsaken  them, 
Matt,  xxvii.  46.  Tiiey  are  usually  full  of  joy  with  the  light 
of  his  countenance. 

And,  by  the  way,  this  may  give  me  an  occasion  to  consider 
another  end  which  the  Socinians  assign  to  the  death  of  Christ, 
that  it  was  in  testimony  to  his  cause  and  doctrine.  To  which  I 
answer: 

If  you  consider  this  abstracted  from  his  resurrection,  it  is  no 
dishonour  to  say,  that  there  is  scarce  a  martyr  from  whose  death 
we  may  not  see  more  reality  in  the  Christian  religion,  than  the 
world  could  do  from  that  of  Christ;  for  if  you  look  upon  things 
only  by  the  outward  appearance,  his  cross  was  enough  to  stum- 
ble all  mankind.  Well  might  they  call  it  "  the  offence  of  the 
cross,"  Gal.  v.  11.  To  see  a  person  go  out  of  the  world,  dis- 
claimed by  men,  disowned  by  God,  is  amazing. 

Had  he  gone  off,  as  others  do,  in  a  "chariot  of  fire,"  2  Kings 
ii.  11,  not  '"loving  their  lives  to  the  death,"  Rev.  xii.  11;  had 
he  cried  out  as  Stephen  did,  "  I  see  the  heavens  opened,  and  the 
glory  of  God,  and  Jesus  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  God,"  Acts 
vii.  5Q,  it  might  have  "  stilled  the  enemy  and  the  avenger,"  Psal. 
viii.  2.  But  to  hear  him  crying  out  after  a  departed  God,  must 
rather  affright  those  about  him;  excepting  in  that  one  instance 
of  his  giving  up  the  ghost  with  a  full  voice,  by  which  he  ap- 
peared to  be  the  Prince  and  Proprietor  of  life.  God  forbid  we 
should  die  as  he  did,  either  in  darkness  or  in  desolation;  angels 
standing  off,  the  Father  withdrawing  himself;  under  every  tor- 
ment upon  his  body,  and  every  anguish  upon  his  soul. 

[4.]  Such  an  exposition  as  this  quite  defeats  the  whole  end 
of  the  apostle's  argument  in  my  text.  He  brings  it  in  by  way 
of  support  to  what  he  had  said,  "  If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be 
against  us?"  that  is,  nothing  can  hurt  us,  though  all  the  world 
should  be  against  us.  Now,  how  does  this  appear?  because, 
"  having  given  up  his  own  Son  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not  with 
him  freely  give  us  all  things?" 

If  Christ  was  only  our  example  in  dying,  I  am  so  far  from 
concluding  that  God  will  give  me  all  things,  that  I  should  rather 
fear  he  would  give  me  nothing ;  for,  if  he  uses  me  as  he  used 
him  in  a  dying  hour,  I  shall  have  no  comfort  or  evidence  that 
he  \sfor  me;  and  the  case  here  mentioned,  would  rather  be  my 
horror  than  my  hope.  I  shall  never  pray  with  regard  to  the 
manner  of  our  Lord's  sufferings:  "  Let  me  die  the  death  of  the 
righteous,  and  let  my  latter  end  be  like  his,"  Num.  xxiii.  10. 
I  never  desire  to  "  tread  the  wine-press  of  the  wrath  of  God," 
Rev.  xix.  15;  no,  it  is  our  privilege  that  "  Christ  did  that  alone, 


248  OF  Christ's  sufferings. 

and  that  of  the  people  there  was  none  with  him,"  Isa.  Ixiii.  3, 
and  of  liis  people,  there  shall  be  jione  after  him. 

I  therefore  conclude,  that  we  are,  indeed,  to  know  "the  fel- 
lowship of  his  sufferings,"  Phil.  iii.  10,  and  be  "conformable  to 
his  death,"  and  thus  to  be  "crucified  with  Christ,"  Gal,  ii.  20, 
to  be  "  buried  with  him  in  baptism  unto  death,"  Col.  ii.  12,  but 
yet  when  he  was  given  up  for  us,  it  must  be  to  another  purpose ; 
that  is, 

2.  That  he  became  a  Substitute,  in  our  room  or  stead.  The 
first  covenant  said,  "  In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof,  thou  shalt 
surely  die,"  Gen.  ii.  16,  17.  And  accordingly  there  is  an  angel 
with  a  flcnning  sword,  Gen.  iii.  24,  drawn  out  against  Adam 
in  person,  if  he  dared  to  return.  But  in  the  nev/  covenant  "  this 
sword  is  awakened  against  another,"  Zech.  xiii.  7,  not  the  flock, 
but  the  Shepherd:  not  the  man  who  was  God's  enemy,  but  the 
JMan  that  was  his  Felloiv,  his  Equal,  and  with  whom  he  took 
the  sweetest  counsel.  "  The  chastisement  of  our  peace  was 
upon  him,  and  by  his  stripes  we  are  healed,"  Isa.  liii,  5. 

(1.)  This  is  the  plain  and  easy,  the  unforced  and  natural  sense 
of  the  words:  if  they  mean  not  this,  they  mean  nothing.  To 
darken  a  visible  text,  is  "talking  in  words  without  knowledge," 
Job  xxxviii.  2.  He  that  stands  for  me,  stands  in  my  place ;  he 
that  acts  for  me,  acts  in  my  stead:  he  is  what  I  should  have  been : 
he  does  what  I  should  have  done:  he  that  is  given  or  appointed 
for  me,  is  but  ivhere  I  should  be.  To  force  a  common  sentence 
.is  persecution;  it  is  drawing  the  gold  of  the  sanctuary  into  little 
threads  and  wires,  and  using  a  text  as  Saul  did  a  disciple,  co77i~ 
2ielling  it  to  blaspheme.  Acts  xxvi.  11. 

(2.)  The  doctrine  of  Christ's  satisfaction  is  no  single,  scatter- 
ed, independent  article,  but  agrees  to  the  whole  stream  of  the 
Bible.  We  have  not  this  truth  as  the  small  drop  of  a  bucket, 
but  as  the  sound  of  many  waters:  I  will  just  read  them  to  you, 
though  in  the  whole  discourse  there  has  been  a  perpetual  distri- 
bution of  scriptures  upon  the  argument. 

It  is  this  that  we  have  the  Bible  for:  it  lies  at  the  heart  of  all 
revelation;  for  as  salvation  was  the  only  thing  that  God  had  to 
tell  us,  so  the  bruising  of  Him,  who  is  the  seed  of  the  woman, 
was  the  only  way,  Gen.  iii.  15.  This  is  the  righteousness  of 
God,  that  is  ivitnessed  by  the  laiu  and  the  prophets,  Rom,  iii. 
21.  Ever  since  he  made  a  path  for  the  just,  this  is  the  light 
that  shone  upon  it,  till  it  came  to  a  perfect  day. 

Whatever  I  have  said  upon  this  subject,  has  been  with  many 
quotations  from  the  word  of  God:  I  will  therefore  only  give  you 
some,  that  I  do  not  remember  to  have  mentioned  already,  and 
that  without  any  enlargement  upon  them;  by  which  it  must 
appear,  that  he  who  denies  this  doctrine,  will  have  work  enough 
upon  his  hands;  he  is  to  fight  it  out  with  all  the  Bible:  though 


OF  Christ's  sufferings.  249 

they  pretend  to  make  a  single  text  or  two  pass  for  no  more  than 
water  spilt  upon  the  ground;  yet,  "  What  will  they  do  in  the 
swelling  of  Jordan?"  Jer.  xii.  5. 

Let  any  one  judge  what  the  death  of  Christ  was  for,  who 
does  but  consider  what  Isaiah  says:  "Surely,  he  has  borne  our 
griefs,  and  carried  our  sorrows.  All  we  like  sheep  have  gone 
astrajr,  but  the  Lord  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all.  It 
pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  him,  and  put  him  to  grief,  and  make 
his  soul  an  offering  for  sin.  By  his  knowledge  shall  my  right- 
eous Servant  justify  many;  for  he  shall  bear  their  iniquities. 
He  poured  out  his  soul  to  death,  he  was  numbered  with  trans- 
gressors, he  bare  the  sin  of  many,  and  made  intercession  for 
transgressors,"  Isa.  liii.  4 — 12. 

Thus  Isaiah  spake  of  him,  and  thus  he  spake  of  himself: 
"  The  Son  of  man  came  to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for  many," 
Mark  x.  45,  His  apostles  are  witnesses  of  these  things :  "  God 
has  commended  his  love  towards  us,  in  that  whilst  we  were  yet 
sinners,  Christ  died  for  us,"  Rom.  v.  8.  "  When  we  were  with- 
out strength,  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly,"  Rom.  viii.  3.  "  God 
sending  his  Son  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  by  a  sacrifice  for 
sin,  condemned  sin  in  the  flesh,  that  the  righteousness  of  the  law 
may  be  fulfilled  in  us.  Christ  has  redeemed  us  from  the  curse 
of  the  law,  being  made  a  curse  for  us,"  Gal.  iii.  13.  "Christ 
has  loved  us,  and  given  himself  for  us,"  Eph.  v.  2.  "  There  is 
one  Mediator  between  God  and  men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus, 
who  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all,"  1  Tim.  ii.  5,  6.  "  By  his 
own  blood  he  entered  into  the  holy  place,  having  obtained  eter- 
nal redemption  for  us,"  Heb.  ix.  12.  "The  blood  of  Christ, 
who,  through  the  eternal  Spirit,  offered  himself  without  spot  to 
God,  shall  purge  our  conscience,"  Heb.  ix.  14.  "His  own  self 
bare  our  sins,  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree,  by  whose  stripes  we 
are  healed,"  1  Pet.  ii.  24.  "  He  once  suffered  for  our  sins,  the 
just  for  the  unjust,  that  he  might  bring  us  to  God,"  1  Pet.  iii. 
18.  "God  has  loved  us,  and  sent  his  Son  to  be  a  propitiation 
for  our  sins,"  1  John  iv.  10.  But  the  time  would  fail  me  to 
give  you  all  of  them. 

To  this  I  may  add,  the  whole  course  of  the  dispensation  that 
we  are  under.  It  is  the  voice  of  every  ordinance.  We  are 
baptized  with  the  baptism  of  repentance  for  the  remission  of 
sins:  that  is,  "as  many  of  us  as  are  baptized  into  Christ,  are 
baplized  into  his  death,'"'  Rom.  vi.  3.  We  hereby  declare  our 
belief,  that  he  was  "delivered  for  our  offences,"  Rom.  iv.  25, 
and  rose  again  for  our  justification. 

What  is  preaching  the  gospel,  but  preaching  "  the  cross  of 
Christ?"  It  is  not  only  to  tell  a  melancholy  story,  but  to  "lift 
up  the  Son  of  man,"  John  iii.  14,  as  the  "serpent  was  lifted  up 
in  the  wilderness,"  Num.  xxi.  9,  and  say,  "  Behold  the  Lamb 
of  God,  who  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world,"  John  i.  29. 


250  OF  Christ's  sufferings. 

The  Lord's  Supper,  in  both  its  parts,  is  a  frequent  memorial 
of  the  doctrine ;  as  often  as  we  do  it,  it  is  "  in  remembrance  of 
him,"  1  Cor.  xi.  24.  The  bread  shows  his  body  that  was  "  bro- 
ken for  lis,"  the  cup  is  the  New  Testament  "  in  his  blood;"  and 
therefore  laying  aside  the  imputation  of  his  righteousness,  is  a 
sponge  to  the  whole  institution,  and  leaves  us  in  all  our  worship 
to  be  walking  in  a  vain  show. 

Nor  do  I  ever  expect  to  see  the  Bible  defended  in  the  hands 
of  those  by  whom  it  is  thus  defeated.  It  is  in  vain  to  set  out 
Jesus,  unless  it  be  as  "  a  propitiation  for  our  sins  through  faith 
in  his  blood,"  Rom.  iii.  25;  without  this  our  preaching  is  in 
vain,  and  your  faith  i)i  vain.  To  say  that  he  did  not  bear  our 
sins,  is  to  make  the  "cross  of  Christ  of  none  effect,"  Gal.  v.  4. 

(3.)  This  alone  can  answer  the  cries  of  an  aivakened  con- 
science. "  Wherewith  shall  I  come  before  the  Lord,  and  bow 
myself  before  the  most  high  God  ?"  Micah  vi.  6.  Not  with 
"thousands  of  rams,"  but  with  "  the  precious  blood  of  Christ," 
1  Pet,  i.  19,  as  of  that  one  Lamb,  who  is  without  blemish  and 
without  spot :  not  with  "  ten  thousand  rivers  of  oil,"  but  in 
and  through  him  whose  name  is  as  "  ointment  poured  forth," 
Cant.  i.  3,  and  who  offered  himself  as  a  "  sacrifice  of  a  sweet 
smelling  savour,"  Eph.  v.  2 ;  and  it  may  be  said  of  heaven  itself, 
that  the  whole  house  is  filled  with  the  odour  of  the  ointment, 
John  xii.  3.  This  speaks  peace  for  us,  and  speaks  peace  to  us. 
It  is  the  blood  of  Christ  that  sprinkles  the  mercy-seat  above, 
and  the  conscience  here  below,  that  it  may  serve  the  living  and 
true  God. 

It  is  not  duties  that  will  do  it;  for  when  a  person  is  made  to 
abhor  himself,  which  is  alwaj'-s  the  case  in  a  thorough  convic- 
tion, he  will  see  there  is  no  bringing  a  "  clean  thing  out  of  an 
unclean;"  Job  xiv.  4,  that  if  ourselves  are  an  unclean  thing, 
our  righteousness  is  as  filthy  rags,  Isa.  Ixiv.  6. 

To  say  that  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  Christ  is  an  enemy 
to  holiness,  is  one  falsehood;  and  to  say  that  the  opposite  opinion 
does  promote  it,  I  am  afraid,  is  another,  if  we  may  judge  of  the 
case  by  men's  hves.  But  this  we  know  to  be  true,  that  in  all 
the  floatings,  heavings,  and  tossings  of  uneasy  conscience,  the 
blood  of  Christ  is  our  only  hope,  our  only  anchor,  sure  and 
steadfast, 

(4.)  The  providence  of  God  made  this  doctrine  to  be  the  glory 
of  our  Reformation.  It  was  in  a  gradual  opposition  to  the 
righteousness  of  Christ  that  Popery  began  to  live;  and  in  the 
noble  revival  of  the  truth  it  began  to  die.  When  they  set  up 
justification  by  works,  their  monks  and  masses,  their  penances 
and  pilgrimages,  their  fasts  and  fopperies,  their  confessions  and 
absolutions,  their  crosses  and  cringes,  their  tyranny  and  trum- 
pery, were  the  generation  of  vipers  that  issued  from  this  womb 
And  therefore  when  God  poured  out  a  spirit  of  reformation  upon 


OF  Christ's  sufferings.  251 

the  land,  it  was  not  only  in  scouring  the  churches  of  imagery, 
and  rumbling  among  their  idols,  but  the  axe  was  laid  to  the 
root  of  the  tree;  Christ  alone  was  "exalted  in  that  day,"  Isa.  ii. 
17,  and  the  wicked  one  consumed  away  by  the  "brightness  of 
his  coming,"  2  Thess.  ii.  8:  then  were  "  our  priests  clothed  with 
righteousness,  and  all  the  saints  shouted  for  joy,"  Psal.  cxxii.  16. 

And  when  this  doctrine  is  denied,  the  Protestant  cause  is  a 
going.  There  is  the  substance  of  Popery;  such  people  have  got 
the  stump  of  Dagon,  they  want  only  the  palms  of  his  hands  to 
be  set  on  again. 

Go  into  Poland,  as  the  Jews  were  ordered  to  Shiloh,  Jer,  vii. 
22,  and  see  what  an  angry  God  has  done  there  for  the  iniquity 
of  his  people.  Socinianism  made  a  gap  for  Popery:  their  Ra- 
covian  vanities  were  the  Roman  vehicle.  Wherever  the  right- 
eousness of  Christ  goes  out,  the  man  of  sin  comes  in.  The 
Arians,  who  denied  his  Deity,  prepared  the  way  for  Mahomet; 
and  they  who  denied  his  satisfaction,  made  room  for  Antichrist. 
Thus,  as  they  went  a  whoring  from  their  God,  they  fell  to  the 
mother  of  harlots  and  abominations. 

2.  As  he  was  delivered  up  for  us,  so  remember  it  was  for  us 
all.  Not  the  whole  human  race,  as  has  been  thoroughly  argued 
in  this  lecture;  but  the  word  is  to  be  taken  in  the  same  compass 
that  our  Saviour  gives  it,  when  he  says  to  the  Father,  "  All  mine 
are  thine,"  and  "all  thine  are  mine."  Johnxvii.  10.  The  mean- 
ing is,  that, 

(1.)  The  greatest  believer  will  need  it.  The  chiefest  of  all  the 
apostles  desired  to  be  "  found  in  him,  having  on  the  righteous- 
ness that  is  of  God  by  faith,"  Phil.  iii.  9.     And, 

(2.)  The  meanest  shall  have  it.  He  gathers  "the  lambs  in 
his  arms,"  Isa.  xl.  11.  From  hence  he  has  his  praises  above; 
"  To  him  that  loved  us,  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  own 
blood,  be  glory  and  dominion."  Rev.  i.  5.  When  we  come  "  to 
see  the  King  in  his  beauty,  and  behold  the  land  that  is  afar  off," 
we  shall  find  indeed,  "the  sword  upon  his  thigh;"  but,  how- 
ever, "his  garment  is  dipt  in  blood,"  Rev.  xix.  13.  It  is  the 
doctrine  we  now  admire,  and  we  shall  hear  it  rung  through  the 
palace  of  the  King.  There  will  be  a  confluence  of  persons  and 
praises  from  the  whole  compass  of  time,  and  the  whole  circle  of 
nature  ;  all  of  them  together  pouring  in  their  eternal  melody  in 
those  words; 

Thou  art  worthy,  for  thou  wast  slain,  and  hast  redeemed  us 
to  God  by  thy  blood,  out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and 
people,  and  nation. 


A  PLAIN  SCRIPTURAL  ACCOUNT 


SINNER'S  JUSTIFICATION  BEFORE  GOD. 


IN    FOUR    SEK3I0iVS. 


y 

By  MR.  ROBERT  BRAGGE, 

MINISTER  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

SERMON  I. 

Galatians  ii.  16. — Knowing'  that  a  man  is  not  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law, 
but  bj  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ ;  even  we  have  believed  in  Jesus  Christ,  that 
we  might  be  justified  by  the  faith  of  Christ,  and  not  by  the  works  of  the  law; 
for  by  the  works  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh  be  justified. 

These  words  are  like  an  alabaster  box  of  precious  ointment, 
which,  if  rightly  opened,  and  applied,  will,  under  the  influences 
of  the  Spirit,  fill  every  believer's  soul  with  the  perfume  thereof. 
In  them  the  Spirit  of  truth,  as  he  is  Christ's  glorifier,  both  lifts 
up  a  standard  against  errors  of  all  sorts,  in  the  doctrine  of  a  sin- 
ner's justification  before  God;  and  holds  out  a  lamp  of  gospel 
light,  to  direct  awakened  souls  into  the  true  way  of  gospel  jus- 
tification: for  they  tell  us  how  the  apostles  and  primitive  saints 
were  all  of  tliem  justified,  and  that  negatively;  "  Knowing  that 
a  man  is  not  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law."  All  taught  of 
God,  in  primitive  times,  learned  this  great  lesson ;  that  man,  in 
his  low  and  lost  estate,  is  not  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law: 
what  the  law  is,  and  Avhat  the  works  are,  of  which  the  apostle 
here  speaks,  is  placed  in  the  clearest  light,  by  the  twenty-first 
verse  of  the  following  chapter;  "  For  if  there  had  been  a  law 
given,  which  could  have  given  life,  verily  righteousness  should 
have  been  by  the  law,"  Gal,  iii,  21;  which  plainly  intimates, 
that  no  such  law  was  given  in  the  apostle's  days;  and  may  we 
not  be  assured,  that  no  such  law  has  been  given  since?  So  that 
these  words  bar  a  sinner's  being  justified  before  God,  by  the 
works  of  any  law  whatever,  whether  old  or  new,  moral  or  cere- 
monial, perfect  or  remedial. 

Then  follows  another  lesson,  which  all  who  were  in  Christ's 

252 


OF   JUSTIFICATION.  253 

school  learned,  in  those  early  days;  without  which  the  former 
would  have  driven  awakened  sinners  to  despair,  "  but  by  the 
faith  of  Jesus  Christ,"  that  is,  which  has  Christ  for  its  object; 
as  is  evident  from  what  follows:  "Even  we  have  believed  in 
Jesus  Christ."  Awakened  sinners,  in  that  day,  were  not  left  to 
sink  under  their  load  of  guilt  at  mount  Sinai,  but  were  directed 
to  mount  Zion,  and  brought  to  Christ,  as  he  is  revealed  there- 
on; for  so  it  follows,  "Even  we  have  believed  in  Jesus  Christ, 
that  we  might  be  justified  by  the  faith  of  Christ,  and  not  by  the 
works  of  the  law  :"  then  is  added  a  further  confirmation  of  the 
foregoing  assertion ;  "  For  by  the  works  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh 
be  justified." 

In  speaking  therefore  to  this  great  scripture,  so  expressive  of 
the  faith  and  actings  of  primitive  saints,  I  shall  observe  the  fol- 
lowing easy  method : 

I.  I  shall  show  what  it  is  for  a  guilty  sinner  to  be  justified  be- 
fore God,  the  Judge  of  all. 

II.  I  shall  inquire  whence  it  is  that  any  of  Adam's  fallen  pos- 
terity are  justified. 

III.  I  shall  show  how  it  is  that  sinners  are  justified. 

IV.  I  shall  endeavour  to  guard  you  against  errors  of  all  sorts, 
relating  to  a  sinner's  justification  before  God. 

I.  I  shall  show  what  it  is  for  a  sinner  to  be  justified  \)eioxQ 
God :  where  I  shall  briefly  assign  the  difference  between  gospel 
justification,  and  gospel  sanctification;  the  blending  of  which 
together  is  a  Popish  error,  very  pernicious,  and  of  fatal  conse- 
quence, as  it  militates  against  the  Protestant  doctrine  of  imputed 
righteousness,  and  casts  a  very  dark  veil  on  some  of  the  bright- 
est parts  of  the  apostle  Paul's  epistles ;  and  which  is  worst  of 
all,  tends  to  eclipse  the  glory  of  Christ,  as  he  is  the  end  of  the 
law  for  righteousness,  to  every  one  that  believes ;  who  is  first 
made  righteousness,  and  so  sanctification  to  us:  "  Of  him  are  ye 
in  Christ  Jesus,  who  of  God  is  made  to  us  wisdom,  righteous- 
ness, and  sanctification,  and  redemption,"  1  Cor.  i.  30 :  which 
order  of  God  relates  to  the  application  of  salvation,  and  ought 
not  to  be  inverted,  nor  broken  in  upon,  by  such  as  preach  the 
gospel. 

Gospel  justification  is  a  change  of  state  and  condition  in  the 
eye  of  the  law,  and  of  the  lawgiver;  whereas  gospel  sanctifica- 
tion is  a  blessed  conformity  of  heart  and  life  to  the  law,  or  will 
of  the  lawgiver.  The  first  is  a  relative  change,  from  being 
guilty  to  be  righteous ;  the  other  is  a  real  change,  from  being 
filthy  to  be  holy:  by  the  one  we  are  made  near  to  God;  by  the 
other  we  are  made  like  to  him.  By  being  justified,  of  aliens  we 
are  made  children  ;  by  being  sanctified,  the  enmity  of  the  heart 
is  slain,  and  the  sinner  made  not  only  a  faithful  loyal  subject, 
but  a  loving  dutiful  child.  This  may  be  set  in  the  clearest  light 
by  the  following  simile.   Our  children,  the  day  they  are  born, 


254  OF   JUSTIFICATION. 

are  as  much  our  children  as  they  are  ever  after;  but  they  are 
many  years  growing  up  into  a  state  of  manhood;  their  hkeness 
to  us,  as  it  respects  the  mind,  as  well  as  the  body,  is  daily  in- 
creasing: thus  a  king's  first-born  son  is  heir  apparent  to  the 
crown,  whilst  lying  in  the  cradle:  after  growth  adds  nothing  to 
his  title  ;  but  it  does  to  his  fitness  to  govern,  and  to  succeed  his 
father.  Our  right  to  heaven  comes  not  in  at  the  door  of  our 
sanctification,  but  at  that  of  our  justification;  but  our  meetness 
for  heaven  does.  By  Christ's  righteousness,  being  upon  us,  we 
have  a  right  to  the  inheritance ;  and  by  Christ's  image  being 
drawn  upon  us,  we  have  our  meetness. 

I  shall  next  observe,  that  to  be  justified,  is  more  than  barely 
to  be  forgiven;  for  to  be  enthled  to,  and  brought  to  heaven,  must 
be  more  than  to  be  saved  from  hell.  A  man  may  be  brought  in 
not  guilty  at  the  king's  bar,  without  being  advanced  in  the 
king's  court:  a  prince  may  pardon  a  traitor  without  conferring 
on  him  any  further  favours.  God's  justified  ones,  are  not  only 
forgiven,  according  to  the  riches  of  the  Father's  grace,  but  they 
are  "  blessed  with  all  spiritual  blessings  in  heavenly  places," 
according  to  the  largeness  of  the  Father's  heart.  Christ,  as  the 
Lord  our  righteousness,  has  brought  in  such  a  way  of  knowing 
and  of  enjoying  God,  as  the  first  Adam  and  his  covenant  were 
utter  strangers  to;  to  wit,  a  seeing  God  face  to  face,  in  the  pre- 
sence chamber  of  heaven,  and  a  being  filled  with  God,  even 
with  all  his  fulness.  God's  justified  ones  are  not  barely  to  live, 
but  to  reign  in  hfe  by  Christ  Jesus. 

Now,  to  prevent  mistakes,  as  well  as  to  clear  up  several  texts 
of  Scripture,  I  would  observe  that  we  read  in  Scripture  of  a 
two-fold  justification,  neither  of  which  is  the  justification  I  am 
to  speak  to.  We  read  of  a  comparative  justification;  "  The  Lord 
said  unto  me,  backsliding  Israel  hath  justified  herself,  more  than 
treacherous  Judah,"  Jer.  iii.  11.  Of  this  we  also  read;  "I  tell 
you,  this  man,"  (that  is  the  publican,)  "  went  down  to  his  house 
justified,  rather  than  the  other,"  Luke  xviii.  14.  We  also  read, 
in  Scripture,  of  a  declarative  justification:  "  By  thy  words  thou 
shalt  be  justified,  and  by  thy  words  thou  shalt  be  condemned," 
Mat.  xii.  37.  The  saints  all  of  them  speak  the  language,  not  of 
Ashdod,  but  of  Canaan,  and  by  so  doing  they  evidence  them- 
selves to  be  of  the  number  of  God's  justified  ones;  whereas 
Christless  sinners  speak  the  language  not  of  heaven,  but  of  hell. 
Of  this  declarative  justification  the  apostle  James  speaks,  in'the 
second  chapter  of  his  epistle;  who,  in  this  view,  may  easily  be 
reconciled  with  the  apostle  Paul.  The  charge  of  sin  brought 
against  us  by  the  law  of  God,  and  that  of  being  hypocrites,  of 
which  the  saints  are  falsely  accused  by  the  men  of  the  world, 
are  two  different  charges.  By  good  works  the  believer  vindi- 
cates himself  from  the  latter,  as  the  apostle  James  did;  but  it  is 
not  by  any  v/orks  of  righteousness  that  the  saint,  though  an 


OF   JUSTIFICATION.  255 

apostle,  hath  done,  or  can  do,  that  he  is  freed  from  the  former. 
For  a  guilty  sinner  to  be  justified  before  God,  the  Judge  of  all, 
is  more  than  to  be  either  comparatively  or  declaratively  justi- 
fied; which  is  the  justification  I  am  to  treat  of 

In  doing  which,  I  shall  not  consider  it  as  it  is  an  immanent 
act  in  God:  God's  immanent  acts  are  surrounded  with  lig?it 
inaccessible,  and  full  of  glory;  and  are  as  far,  nay,  infinitely 
further,  out  of  the  reach  of  our  minds,  than  the  highest  star  in 
heaven  is  beyond  the  reach  of  our  arms.  As  he  must  be  a  man, 
and  not  an  inferior  being,  who  knows  what  the  immanent  acts 
in  man  are,  or  how  things  lie  in  his  mind  and  will ;  and  he 
must  be  an  angel  who  knows  what  the  immanent  acts  of  an 
angel  are;  so  he  must  be  God,  who  knows  what  the  immanent 
acts  in  God  are,  or  how  things  lie  in  the  divine  mind  and  will. 
Thus  God  himself  speaks  of  them:  "  My  thoughts  are  not  your 
thoughts,  neither  are  your  ways  my  ways,  saith  the  Lord;  for 
as  the  heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth,  so  are  my  ways 
higher  than  your  ways,  and  my  thoughts  than  your  thoughts," 
Isa.  Iv.  8,  9.  It  must  therefore  be  safest  in  this,  and  in  all 
other  gospel  doctrines,  to  soar  no  higher  than  the  wing  of  the 
word  will  carry  us. 

In  the  word,  we  read  of  a  court  held  by  God,  as  a  Judge,  in 
paradise;  before  whom  our  first  parents  were  audibly  cited, 
tried  according  to  truth,  and  condemned  in  righteousness.  God 
also  held  a  court  on  mount  Sinai;  the  sight  whereof  was  so 
terrible,  that  Moses,  though  a  typical  mediator,  quaked  and 
trembled,  as  did  the  mount  on  which  it  was  held.  But  he  now 
holds  his  court  on  mount  Zion:  where  it  is  proclaimed,  as  on 
the  house  top,  "  That  by  Christ  all  who  believe  are  justified 
from  all  things,  from  which  there  was  no  being  justified  by  the 
law  of  Moses,"  Acts  xiii.  39;  that  we  are  freely  justified  by  his 
grace,  through  the  redemption  that  is  in  Jesus;  that  Christ  is 
the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness,  to  every  one  that  believes; 
and  that  we  are  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him:  "  He  has 
made  him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew  no  sin,  that  we  might  be 
made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him,"  Rom.  x.  4,  which  last 
is  the  amazing  account  we  have  in  Scripture  of  a  sinner's  justi- 
fication before  God;  which,  to  be  sure,  is  the  wonder  of  angels, 
that  man  fallen  so  low  in  the  first  Adam,  should  be  raised  so 
high  in  Christ  the  second;  that  they  who  are  hell-deserving  dust 
and  ashes  in  themselves,  should  be  made  the  righteousness  of 
God  in  another. 

So  that  for  a  sinner  to  be  justified  before  God,  is  not,  properly 
speaking,  for  him  to  have  the  effects  and  fruits  of  Christ's  pur- 
chase imparted;  for  so  they  are  in  a  sinner's  regeneration;  but 
to  have  that  righteousness  of  his,  which  is  made  up  of  his 
active  and  passive  obedience  to  the  law  of  God,  as  a  covenant, 
imputed;  by  which  he  not  only  fulfilled  the  law,  but  magnified 


256  OF   JUSTIFICATION. 

it,  so  as  to  make  it  infinitely  honourable,  as  well  as  repaired 
the  breaches  thereof:  this  righteousness  was  wrought  out  for  us, 
long  before  we  had  a  being,  but  it  is  not  to,  nor  upon  us,  in  the 
sense  of  the  Scripture,  till  we  believe.  To  talk  as  some  have 
done,  and  still  do,  that  the  etiects  of  this  righteousness  are  im- 
puted, is  to  speak  very  improperly,  as  well  as  unscripturally; 
these  are  imparted,  but  it  is  the  righteousness  itself  that  is  im- 
puted :  how  else  could  it  be  said,  as  it  is  in  Scripture,  that  be- 
lievers are  "  made  the  righteousness  of  God,  in  Christ;"  and  that 
in  "  Christ  we  have  all  righteousness  for  our  justification?"  the 
last  of  wiiich  is  the  language  of  the  Old  Testament,  as  the  first 
is  of  the  New. 

In  the  ruin  brought  upon  us  by  the  first  Adam,  not  only  the 
dismal  eflfects  and  fruits  of  his  fall  are  imparted,  but  the  guilt 
of  his  first  sin  is  imputed;  he  being  our  federal  head,  by  the 
same  divine  appointment  that  he  was  our  common  parent;  as 
is  evident  beyond  all  contradiction,  from  that  great  text,  Rom. 
V.  IS,  "  Therefore  as  by  the  offence  of  one,  judgment  came 
upon  all  men  to  condemnation ;  even  so,  by  the  righteousness 
of  One,  the  free  gift  came  upon  all  men  to  justification  of  life; 
for  as  by  one  man's  disobedience  many  were  made  sinners,  so 
by  the  obedience  of  One  shall  many  be  made  righteous."  Let 
the  apostle  Paul,  who  was  once  a  Pharisee,  determine  whether 
Christ's  righteousness  be  not  imputed,  as  well  as  its  purchased 
grace  imparted;  "  That  I  may  be  found  in  him,  not  having  my 
own  righteousness,  which  is  of  the  law;  but  that  which  is 
through  the  faith  of  Christ,  even  the  righteousness  v/hich  is  of 
God  by  faith,"  Phil.  iii.  9.  Thus  much  may  suffice  for  the  first 
general  head. 

11.  I  shall  very  briefly  show  lohence  it  is  that  any  of  Adam's 
fallen  posterity  are  justified.  Had  our  first  parents  continued 
steadfast  in  God's  covenant,  their  justification  would  have  been 
owing  to  a  righteousness  of  their  own,  wrought  out  by  their 
own  care  and  industry;  but  our  justification,  who  are  sinners, 
and  as  such  are  fallen  infinitely  short  of  the  glory  of  God,  must 
be  owing  to  another  spring;  even  the  free,  abounding,  super- 
abounding  grace  of  God.  Adam's  justification  would  have 
been  according  to  the  dues  of  creation ;  whereas  our  justifica- 
tion is  every  way  considered  above  the  dues  thereof;  being 
wholly  of  grace,  and  not  of  works.  This,  and  no  other,  is  the 
account  which  the  Scriptures  give  of  it;  •'  Being  justified  freely 
by  his  grace,  through  the  redemption  that  is  in  Jesus,"  Rom. 
iii.  24.  In  which  words  are  joined  what  the  Arians  and  Ar- 
minians  say  can  never  meet;  even  a  being  freely  justified  by 
grace,  and  a  full  price  laid  down  to  obtain  it :  but  the  seeming 
contradiction  vanishes,  by  considering,  that  the  price  was  nei- 
ther sought,  nor  brought  by  us;  but  is  only  and  wholly  the 
provision  and  gift  of  grace;  which  gift  is  so  contrived,  as  to 


OF   JUSTIFICATION.  257 

manifest  the  grace  of  God  to  the  uttermost:  it  is  that  grace 
may  shine  forth  the  brighter,  and  not  be  echpsed,  that  this 
way  of  justification  was  pitched  upon;  for  Christ  tlie  Redeemer 
was,  throughout  the  whole  of  his  suretiship,  nndertaliings,  and 
performances,  to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  the  Father's  grace. 
Never  did  grace  so  triumph,  as  in  the  provision  and  gift  of 
Christ.  Every  step  the  Redeemer  took  in  this  great  work,  was 
most  expressive,  as  of  the  love  of  his  heart,  so  of  the  grace  of 
the  Father's;  which  hereby  is  so  fully  and  gloriously  manifest- 
ed, as  to  be  said  to  reign,  through  Christ's  righteousness,  to  eter- 
nal life.  "  Moreover,  the  law  entered,  that  the  offence  might 
abound;  but  where  sin  abounded,  grace  did  much  more  abound; 
that  as  sin  has  reigned  to  death,  so  grace  might  reign,  through 
righteousness,  to  eternal  life,  by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,"  Rom. 
iii.  24,  of  the  reign  of  which  there  shall  be  no  end.  Our  shout- 
ings will  be  grace,  grace,  not  only  when  we  first  come  to  hea- 
ven, but  ever  after;  which  will  be  enlarged  rather  than  straiten- 
ed, and  strengthened  rather  than  grow  low  and  weak,  through- 
out the  endless  ages  of  eternity.  As  they  about  the  throne  rest 
not,  so  they  cease  not  thus  to  give  glory;  of  which  reign,  how 
small  is  the  portion  which  the  most  knowing  among  us  at 
present  know  ?  We  write  and  preach,  and  think  and  talk  about 
it,  but  like  so  many  children;  which  is  the  apostle's  own  com- 
parison, though  he  had  been  wrapt  up  into  the  third  heaven. 
As  no  words  could  express  to  the  queen  of  Sheba  the  glory  of 
Solomon's  kingdom,  so  less  able  are  words  to  express  the  glory 
of  the  reign  of  grace;  the  superaboundings  of  which  will  fill  an 
eternity,  as  a  spring-tide  doth  our  rivers,  and  employ  all  heads, 
hearts,  and  tongues  about  the  throne;  when  our  likeness  to  our 
glorified  head,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  shall  be  complete.  Thus 
much  may  suffice  for  the  second  inquiry. 

in.  I  shall  show  hoiu  it  is  that  sinners  are  justified.  The 
light  of  nature  may  know  something  relating  to  the  justification 
of  a  man,  in  a  state  of  innocency,  on  the  foot  of  a  covenant  of 
works;  but  it  knows  nothing  how  it  is  that  sinners  are  justified 
on  the  foot  of  a  covenant  of  grace;  this  is  such  a  secret,  as  was 
hid  from  men  and  from  angels:  to  the  Bible  alone  we  owe  the 
discovery  of  this  rich  mine  of  gospel  treasure;  in  digging  into 
which,  I  shall  observe  the  following  method: 

1.  1  shall  show,  out  of  Scripture,  what  part  in  this  weighty 
affair  is  assigned  to  God  the  Father. 

2.  I  shall  show  what  part  is  assigned  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

3.  I  shall  show  what  part  is  assigned  to  the  ever  blessed 
Spirit. 

4.  I  shall  show  what  is  the  use  of  faith,  in  a  sinner's  justifi- 
cation ;  where  I  shall  answer  a  threefold  inquiry. 

(1.)  Whether  faith  be  only  a  manifestation. 

33 


258  OF    JUSTIFICATION. 

(2.)  Whether  the  believer  may,  in  any  sense,  be  said  to  be 
justified  before  faith. 

(3.)  How  it  is  that  elect  infants,  dying  in  infancy,  are  justified. 

5.  I  shall  evince  the  sure  connexion  which  there  is  between 
faith  and  actual  justification. 

6.  I  shall  assign  to  good  works  their  proper  place  in  this 
weiglity  affair. 

7.  I  shall  show  of  what  use  the  law,  the  written  word,  and 
the  court  of  conscience,  are  therein. 

1.  I  shall  show  what  part  in  this  great  affair  God  the  Father 
takes  to  himself,  according  to  the  Scriptures,  He  there  speaks 
of  himself  as  being  the  Judge  of  all;  and  of  consequence  he 
must  have  a  principal  hand  therein.  Accordingly  we  read,  that 
it  is  God  who  justifies:  "  Who  shall  lay  any  thing  to  the  charge 
of  God's  elect?  It  is  God  that  justifies,"  Rom.  viii.  33;  to 
whom  all  who  believe  in  Jesus  come  to  be  justified;  "and  to 
God  the  Judge  of  all,"  Heb,  xii.  23.  He  who  passed  sentence 
upon  sinning  Adam,  with  all  he  represented,  as  a  federal  head, 
and  should  ever  spring  from  him,  as  a  common  parent,  of  whose 
holy  and  perfect  law  all  sin  is  the  transgression;  he  it  is  that 
justifies,  or  no  flesh  could  be  truly,  or  to  any  saving  purpose, 
justified. 

That  this  great  and  solemn  transaction  may  appear  to  be  the 
pleasure  of  the  Lord,  being  effected  not  only  with  a  salvo  to 
his  truth  and  holiness,  but  in  a  way  most  expressive  of  all  the 
divine  perfections,  whereby  the  Father  may  get  to  himself,  in 
point  of  manifestation,  a  glorious  name  for  ever,  the  wonderful 
platform  of  a  sinner's  justification,  with  all  that  leads  to  it,  or  is 
contained  in  it,  or  is  consequential  upon  it,  is  spoken  of,  in 
Scripture,  as  his  contrivance,  and  there  represented  not  only 
as  the  birth,  but  as  the  master-piece  of  his  adorable  wisdom : 
"  Wherein  he  hath  abounded  towards  us,  in  all  wisdom  and 
prudence  :"  so  that  the  sinner's  justifying  righteousness,  is  the 
provision  and  gift  of  his  love  and  grace  ;  and  he  who  brought  in 
or  wrought  out  this  righteousness,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  is  his 
righteous  servant :  "  Thou  art  my  servant,  0  Israel,  in  whom  I 
will  be  glorified,"  Isa.  xlix.  3,  saith  the  Father  to  Christ.  The 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  finished  transgression,  and  made  an  end  of 
sin,  and  reconciliation  for  iniquity,  and  brought  in  everlasting 
righteousness,  under  a  double  character ;  the  one  subordinate  to 
the  other ;  as  God's  righteous  servant,  and  by  God's  appoint- 
ment, his  people's  righteous  surety :  who  came  into  this  world, 
as  sent  by  the  Father,  and  set  about  this  great  work,  as  one 
completely  fitted  for  it,  and  fully  authorized  to  accomplish  it  by 
the  Father.  Of  both  these  you  read  at  large  in  the  sixty-first 
chapter  of  Isaiah :  "  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me, 
because  the  Lord  hath  anointed  me  to  preach  good  tidings," 
&c.,  Isa.  Ivi.  1.     "Christ  glorified  not  himself  to  be  made  an 


OF    JUSTIFICATION.  259 

High-priest ;  but  he  that  said  unto  him,  Thou  art  my  Son,  this 
day  liave  I  begotten  thee,"  Heb.  v.  5.  Neither  did  he  act  in 
his  own  name  in  the  discharge  of  that  office:  "I  am  come  in 
my  Father's  name,  and  ye  receive  me  not;"  whose  Father  was 
always  with  him  as  Man  and  Mediator.  He  both  assisted  and 
accepted  him,  throughout  the  whole  of  his  obedience,  whether 
active  or  passive,  and  was  with  him  in  his  private  life,  as  well 
as  in  his  public  showing  to  Israel :  he  was  not  alone  in  the 
cradle,  nor  in  his  reputed  father's  house,  any  more  than  at  Jeru- 
salem, or  in  the  temple;  who  was  raised  from  the  dead  by  the 
glory  of  the  Father,  whereby  he  was  actually  and  publicly  jus- 
tified, not  barely  from  the  false  accusations  of  his  enemies^  but 
as  his  people's  surety  and  great  representative,  from  all  those 
sins  he  had  undertaken  to  satisfy  for.  He  told  his  disciples, 
that  the  "  Spirit  should  convince  the  world  of  righteousness, 
because  he  went  to  the  Father;"  for  had  he  not  fulfilled  all 
righteousness,  instead  of  being  received  up  into  glorj^,  he  had 
been  sent  back  to  finish  the  work  which  the  Father  had  given 
him  to  do. 

The  Father's  part,  therefore,  in  this  weighty  afi"air,  is  to  pro- 
vide for  his  people  a  justifying  righteousness,  in  all  respects 
perfect  and  complete,  such  as  his  law,  the  great  standard  of  all 
righteousness,  requires:  and  as  to  provide  it  for  them,  so  to 
impute  it  to  them,  which  is  done  by  him,  as  Judge  of  all,  not 
audibly  by  a  voice  from  heaven,  but  by  a  more  sure  word  of 
prophecy,  as  out  of  the  mouth  of  two  matchless  witnesses,  the 
Old  and  the  New  Testament.  God's  written  word  as  really 
answers  to  the  records  of  heaven,  as  the  counterpart  doth  to  the 
original  deed;  for  as  the  law  is  a  perfect  copy  of  God's  will,  so 
the  gospel  is  as  perfect  a  copy  of  God's  heart :  saints  and  sin- 
ners may  depend  upon  it,  that  what  the  word  of  God  now  says 
they  are,  Christ,  as  Judge,  will  declare  them  to  be.  We  are 
not  one  thing  in  the  eye  of  the  word,  and  another  thing  in  the 
eye  of  Christ,  who  will  own  and  honour  his  written  word,  as 
all  along,  so  at  last.  As  certainly  as  that  declares  Christ's 
righteousness  to  be  upon  us  who  believe,  it  is  so,  according  to 
eternal  purposes,  to  all  those  ends  of  love  and  grace,  for  which 
it  was  contrived  and  provided  by  the  Father, 

None,  save  God,  the  Judge  of  all,  could  make  Christ  to  be 
sin  for  us;  and  none,  save  God,  the  Judge  of  all,  can  make  any 
of  us  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him;  both  which  are  ascribed 
to  him;  "All  things  are  of  God;  who  has  reconciled  us  to  him- 
self by  Jesus  Christ,  and  has  given  to  us  the  ministry  of  recon- 
ciliation; to  wit,  that  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world 
to  himself,  not  imputing  their  trespasses  to  them;  for  he  has 
made  him  to  be  sin  for  us,  that  we  might  be  made  the  right- 
eousness of  God  in  him,"  2  Cor.  v.  18,  which  blessed  exchange 


260  OF    JUSTIFICATION. 

must  be  the  wonder  of  angels,  and  will  be  for  ever  the  wondei 
of  all  the  saints. 

The  provision,  revelation,  and  imputation  of  this  righteous- 
ness, is  wholly  and  solely  of  grace,  in  the  superaboundings 
thereof;  therefore  is  it  once  and  again  called  the  gift  of  right- 
eous ness,  which,  is  its  New  Testament  name;  such  a  gift  as  has 
an  abundance  of  grace  going  along  with  it;  "Much  more  they 
who  receive  an  abundance  of  grace,  and  of  the  gift  of  right- 
eousness, shall  reign  in  life  by  one  Jesus  Christ,"  Rom.  v.  17. 
To  conceive  of  God,  as  of  a  just  God,  and  not  as  of  a  Saviour, 
borders  upon  despair;  and  to  conceive  of  him  as  a  Saviour,  and 
not  as  a  just  God,  borders  upon  presumption;  but  to  conceive 
of  him,  as  being  a  just  God,  and  a  Saviour,  is  to  form  right  and 
becoming  thoughts  of  him,  such  as  both  Testaments  furnish  us 
with;  for  thus  God  speaks  of  himself:  "There  is  no  God  else 
beside  me,  a  just  God,  and  a  Saviour,"  Isa.  xlv.  21.  And 
therefore  thus  should  we  think  of  him;  his  being  a  just  God 
should  but  the  more  endear  him,  as  he  is  the  provider  of  right- 
eousness; and  his  being  a  Saviour,  should  but  the  more  encour- 
age us  to  plead  this  righteousness  with,  and  before  him,  as 
Judge  of  all.  In  a  word,  as  the  whole  of  our  salvation,  by  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  is  of  grace,  {By  grace  are  ye  saved,)  so  is 
this  main  branch  thereof,  a  sinner's  justification  before  God. 

I  shall  conclude  this  discourse  by  endeavouring  to  return  an 
answer  to  the  following  inquiry,  which  contains  the  greatest 
difficulty  that  can  be  raised  against  the  head  of  doctrine  I  am 
upon ;  which  lies  at  the  bottom  of  every  sinner's  heart,  in  ob- 
jecting against  the  being  of  a  God,  and  the  truth  of  the  gospel 
in  general,  as  well  as  this  of  a  sinner's  justification  before  God 
in  particular.  The  objection  is  this:  Why  was  sin  suffered  to 
enter  this  world,  which  hath  hurled  such  confusion  quite  round 
the  globe;  to  finish  which,  in  a  way  of  satisfaction  cost  God  so 
dear,  as  the  blood  of  his  own  and  only  begotten  Son?  To 
which  I  answer:  "God  made  man  upright,  but  they  have  sought 
out  many  inventions,"  Eccl.  vii,  29.  The  first  sin  was,  to  be 
sure,  the  genuine  birth  of  free  will.  Now,  to  ask  why  God 
made  a  free  agent,  and  suffered  him  to  act  suitably  to  his  na- 
ture, that  is,  freely,  would  be  a  vain  and  a  foolish  inquiry.  We 
may  safely  conclude,  that  had  not  God  known  how  to  deal  with 
such  an  enemy  as  sin,  so  as  to  bring  glory  to  himself,  and  good 
to  the  chosen  people,  out  of  all  the  confusion  with  which  sin 
1ms  filled  this  world,  he  would  never  have  suffered  it  to  have 
entered;  but  the  same  super-creation  grace  which  prevented 
the  fall  of  the  elect  angels,  would  have  interposed,  and  pre- 
vented the  fall  of  the  elect  among  the  children  of  men ;  so  that 
the  gospel  is  a  full  answer  to  this  bold  inquiry:  according  to 
which,  God  is  commending  his  love  in  the  gift  of  his  Son;  may 


OF   JUSTIFICATION.  261 

we  not  safely  say,  so  as  it  could  no  other  way  be  so  sweetly 
and  fully,  so  surprisiugly  and  gloriously  recommended?  '•  But 
God  commends  his  love  towards  us,  in  that  while  we  were  yet 
sinners,  Christ  died  for  us,"  Rom.  v.  8.  He  also,  who  is  an  in- 
finitely wise  and  holy  God,  takes  occasion  from  the  aboundings 
of  sin,  to  manifest  the  superaboundings  of  his  grace:  "  More- 
over, the  law  entered  that  the  oflence  might  abound;  but  where 
sin  abounded,  grace  did  much  more  abound;  that  as  sin  has 
reigned  to  death,  so  might  grace  reign  to  eternal  life,  by  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord,"  Rom  v.  20.  In  the  gospel  we  have  a  new 
display  of  all  the  divine  perfections;  according  to  which,  God, 
who  is  love,  is  not  content  to  manifest  his  love  in  a  direct  way, 
as  it  was  manifested  towards  the  elect  angels,  and,  without  any 
more  to  do,  fix  us  in  glory,  but  has  pitched  upon  such  ways  of 
manifesting  his  love,  as  contain  in  them  fathomless  depths,  un- 
measurable  heights,  and  incomprehensible  breadths  and  lengths; 
for  the  love  in  God's  heart  being  infinite,  must  be  as  great  as 
all  transient  acts  can  express  for  ever;  not  only  such  as  are  plain 
and  obvious,  but  such  as  are  in  the  deep  waters,  and  take  the 
most  astonishing  compass  and  turns. 

To  create  such  a  free  agent  as  man,  has  nothing  in  it  unbe- 
coming an  infinitely  perfect  Being,  who  was  made  in  the  image 
of  God,  and  placed  at  the  head  of  this  lower  creation,  as  lord 
thereof.  Whatever  became  a  bountiful  Creator  to  bestow  on 
man,  was  with  a  very  liberal  hand  given  to  our  first  parents  : 
nothing  that  could  be  called  a  creation  due  was  withheld  from 
them ;  but,  as  creatures,  they  were  mutable ;  and,  as  rational, 
they  were  free.  To  enter  into  covenant  with  our  first  parents, 
who  were  made  but  a  little  lower  than  the  angels,  and  crowned 
with  so  much  glory  and  honour,  was  but  a  further  honour  put 
upon  them;  neither  does  this  carry  or  contain  in  it  any  thing 
unbecoming  the  majesty  of  God.  To  sufter  them  to  act  suitably 
to  the  natural  powers,  and  to  the  state  of  probation  they  were 
placed  in,  that  is,  freely,  though  at  this  door  sin  might  enter,  and 
did,  yet  tins  contains  in  it  nothing  that  is  unbecoming:  neither 
does  his  restraining  and  over-ruling  so  great  and  deadly  an  evil 
as  sin,  for  the  manifestation  of  his  own  glory,  in  bringing  light 
out  of  sin's  horrible  darkness,  and  order  out  of  all  the  confusion 
sin  is  big  with,  and  hath,  since  the  fall,  brought  into  this  world. 
These  things  are  expressive  of  power,  and  not  of  weakness,  of 
adorable  wisdom,  and  not  of  folly.  Thus  the  apostle  speaks  of 
them,  especially  of  the  latter,  God's  concluding  or  shutting  up 
all  in  unbelief,  that  he  might  have  mercy  upon  all;  and  thus 
should  we :  "  God  has  concluded  all  in  unbelief,  that  he  might 
have  mercy  upon  all:  0  the  depth  of  the  riches,  both  of  the 
wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God!  How  unsearchable  are  his 
judgments, and  his  ways  past  finding  out!"  Rom.  xi.  32.  This 
shutting  up  all  in  unbelief,  must  include  every  chosen  vessel. 


262  OF   JUSTIFICATION. 

both  among  the  Jews  and  among  the  Gentiles;  for  the  pronoun 
them,  is  not  in  the  original. 

The  following  simile,  which  I  owe  to  the  great  Dr.  Goodwin, 
may  serve  to  illustrate  what  I  have  delivered  on  this  head. 
Suppose  a  curious  artist,  who  hath  made  the  finest  and  the  best 
vessel  of  glass  that  was  ever  made,  should  let  it  fall  out  of  his 
hand,  and  break  all  in  pieces,  with  a  design  to  show  his  greater 
skill  in  so  setting  together  the  broken  pieces  thereof,  as  to  make 
it  more  beautiful,  and  useful,  and  stronger  than  ever,  even  so 
strong  as  to  be  out  of  all  danger  of  being  ever  broke ;  would 
an}?'  censure  his  conduct,  or  say  he  had  acted  a  weak  unbe- 
coming part,  in  letting  the  glass  he  had  made,  with  so  much 
care  and  art,  fall  and  break?  Would  not  all  commend  the  act, 
and  admire  his  skill?  For  though  to  make  glass  is  confessed  by 
all  to  be  a  curious  art ;  yet  to  be  able  so  to  set  together  broken 
glass,  as  to  render  it  proof  against  all  accidents,  the  hammer 
itself  not  excepted,  would  be  a  far  greater  piece  of  skill.  The 
application  is  easy,  and  very  instructing;  though  the  simile  falls 
short  in  this,  that  man  broke  and  destroyed  himself:  "  0  Israel, 
thou  hast  destroyed  thyself;  but  in  me  is  thy  help,"  Hos.  xiii.  9. 
For  God  to  make  so  noble  a  creature  as  man,  endowed,  as,  to 
be  sure,  he  originally  was,  with  such  noble  powers,  and  vast 
capacities,  was  much ;  but  to  new-form  him,  after  sin  had  mar- 
red and  broken  him,  as  he  shall  undoubtedly  be  formed  by 
Christ,  as  to  body,  as  well  as  soul,  in  the  morning  of  the  resur- 
rection, is  much  more.  The  saints  will  not  then  complain  of 
God,  nor  be  tempted  to  charge  him  foolishly,  for  suffering  sin 
to  enter :  and  as  for  the  atheist  and  the  deist,  they  will  then  be 
struck  dumb,  and  for  ever  silenced.  The  restitution  of  all  things 
by  Christ,  the  second  Adam,  will  set  all  that  relates  to,  oris  con- 
sequential upon  the  sin  and  fall  of  the  first  Adam,  in  the  clear- 
est and  most  astonishing  light. 

There  are  two  New  Testament  texts,  as  full  of  glory,  as  any 
in  the  whole  book  of  God,  which  I  would  turn  to,  and  direct 
how  they  may  with  safety  be  received,  and  feasted  upon,  and 
should  be  so  by  the  whole  household  of  faith.  The  first  of  tliem 
is  this;  "That  in  the  dispensation  of  the  fulness  of  times,  he 
might  gather  together  in  one  all  things  in  Christ;  both  which 
are  in  heaven,  and  which  are  on  earth,  even  in  him,  Eph.  i.  10. 
The  other  is  this,  "  And  having  made  peace  through  the  blood 
of  his  cross,  by  him  to  reconcile  all  things  to  himself;  by  him, 
I  say,  whether  they  be  things  in  earth,  or  things  in  heaven," 
Col.  i.  20.  Now  to  carry  these  texts  beyond  the  election  of  the 
Father's  grace,  is  to  abuse  them ;  but  to  understand  them  of  the 
full  birth  of  electing  and  redeeming  love,  is  to  make  a  right  use 
of  them;  and  of  that  other  Avhich  is  like  to  them,  "Whom  the 
heaven  must  receive,  till  the  times  of  the  restitution  of  all 
things,  which  God  has  spoken  by  the  mouth  of  all  his  holy  pro- 


OF    JUSTIFICATION.  263 

phets,  since  the  world  began,"  Acts  iii.  21.  Neither  man,  the 
inhabitant,  nor  this  earth,  on  which  he  dwells,  are  what  they 
originally  were, or  as  tliey  at  first  came  out  of  tiie  hand  of  God; 
but  both  are  what  they  became  through  sin,  like  the  sherds  of 
a  broken  vessel.  Man  is  a  child  of  darkness;  a  slave  to  sin' 
and  Satan;  a  wolf  to  his  neighbour;  a  rebel  to  his  God,  and 
the  destroyer  of  himself:  and  as  for  the  earth  on  which  man 
walks  and  dwells,  sin  has  turned  it  into  a  howling  wilderness: 
its  atmosphere  is  filled  with  irregular  winds,  hurricanes,  and 
storms;  with  noxious  vapours,  blasts,  and  lightnings;  with  ter- 
rible thunder,  and  sometimes  with  prodigies  and  frightful  sights: 
the  earth  is  so  far  from  being  alike  fruitful,  that  in  it  are  sandy 
deserts,  and  barren  heaths,  hard  rocks,  and  flaming  mountains. 
Its  fields  bring  forth  thorns,  and  briers,  and  weeds,  in  an  abun- 
dance ;  there  is  the  nettle,  and  the  hemlock,  with  other  poisonous 
plants,  and  hurtful  fruits;  its  insects  are  many  of  them  armed 
with  stings,  and  some  full  of  deadly  poison :  there  is  the  viper  and 
the  scorpion ;  its  birds  and  beasts  are  birds  and  beasts  of  prey: 
and  as  for  men,  how  many  are  the  defective,  as  well  as  mon- 
strous births  among  them?  Thousands  are  blind,  and  deaf,  and 
crooked  from  the  womb;  and  thousands  are  strangled  in  the 
birth :  all  are  born  mortal ;  and  how  many  die  soon  after  they 
are  born?  They  just  salute  the  world,  and  so  take  leave  of  it. 
All  which  things  are  the  fruits  of  the  curse,  and  undeniable 
instances  and  proofs  of  God's  hatred  of  sin,  and  of  his  holy  dis- 
pleasure against  sinners. 

But,  after  all  that  can  be  said  on  this  head,  to  silence  gain- 
sayers,  that  wise  and  most  comprehensive  saying  of  Christ, 
occasioned  by  the  gospel's  being  hid  from  the  wise  and  prudent 
of  the  world,  and  revealed  unto  babes,  should  satisfy  all  true 
believers:  "  Even  so.  Father,  for  so  it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight," 
Luke  X.  21.  To  his  sovereign  will  and  pleasure,  who  works 
all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will,  it  seemed  good,  for 
wise  and  holy  ends,  to  sutler  the  fall  of  our  first  parents,  and, 
by  them,  sin  to  enter:  and  to  his  sovereign  grace  it  seems  good, 
thus  wonderfully  to  overrule  it,  as  to  the  whole  election  of  his 
grace.  All  which  lessens  not  the  evil  that  is  in  sin ;  no  more  than 
the  skill  of  the  physician,  in  prescribing  a  sovereign  antidote, 
lessens  the  malignity  that  is  in  poison :  nor  is  it  any  ways  the 
least  excuse  for  sinners,  who  transgress  the  law  with  hearts  full 
of  enmity  against  the  gospel.  Might  natural  men  quite  round 
the  globe  have  their  wills,  Christ  would  be  in  heaven  alone. 
To  quarrel  with  electing  love,  as  it  is  manifested  in  the  gospel, 
and  with  Him,  that  justifies  such  as  believe  in  Jesus,  is  to  quar- 
rel with  the  best  and  the  only  effectual  way  of  drawing  us  out 
of  the  pit,  and  bringing  us  safe  to  glory.  How  empty  would  the 
story  of  Joseph  have  been,  had  he  not  been  envied,  and  sold  by 
his  brethren,  with  all  that  was  consequential  thereupon !  Where- 


264  OF    JUSTIFICATION. 

as  it  is  now  one  of  the  most  remarkable  and  surprising  that  was 
ever  written.  How  sweet  did  Israel's  bondage  in  Egypt,  make 
Israel's  rest  in  Canaan !  and  how  astonishing  and  full  of  God 
was  their  deliverance !  God's  sovereign  will  and  pleasure  is,  in 
"many  instances,  the  ne  plus-  ultra  of  the  believer's  inquiries:  no 
other,  nor  better  reason  can  be  given,  why  the  world  is  not  as 
many  millions  of  years  old  as  it  is  thousands ;  and  why  the 
globe  of  this  earth  is  not  as  large  as  the  body  of  the  sun ;  and 
why  the  numbers  of  the  elect  are  not  double  and  triple  to  what 
they  are,  who,  considered  in  the  first  fruits  and  in  the  full  vin- 
tage, will  be  an  innumerable  multitude.  He,  who  works  all 
things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will,  is  in  these  things  ac- 
countable to  none  ;  neither  to  man,  nor  to  angels:  none  may  say 
to  God,  what  doest  thou?  whose  own  glory,  in  the  manifesta- 
tion of  it,  must,  beyond  all  dispute,  be  his  highest  end :  a  consi- 
deration which  should  not  only  quiet,  but  rejoice  all  who  be- 
Heve  unto  righteousness :  who  cannot  desire  more  than  is  en- 
tailed on  them,  in  that  single,  but  great  text:  "Let  none  glory 
in  man,  for  all  things  are  yours ;  whether  Paul,  or  Apollos,  or 
Cephas,  or  the  world,  or  life,  or  death,  or  things  present,  or 
things  to  come :  all  are  yours ;  and  ye  are  Christ's,  and  Christ  is 
God's,"  1  Cor.  iii.  21,22.  Can  the  great  soul  of  man,  when  en- 
nobled and  enlarged  by  regenerating  grace,  open  its  mouth 
wider,  or  desire  more  ?  Let  us  therefore,  who  are  among  God's 
justified  ones,  join  in  giving  thanks  with  those  of  whom  the 
apostle  speaks  ;  "  All  things  are  for  your  sakes,  that  the  abun- 
dant grace  might,  through  the  thanksgivings  of  many,  redound 
to  the  glory  of  God,'^  2  Cor.  iv.  15.  In  so  high  and  compre- 
hensive a  sense  does  praise  wait  for  God  in  Zion;  whose  inha- 
bitants are  encouraged  to  praise  God  by  being  told,  as  from  the 
mouth  of  God,  TVhoso  offers  praise,  glorifies  me.  They  there- 
fore whom  God  justifies,  should  not,  upon  every  slight  occasion, 
or  new  trouble,  hang  their  harps  upon  the  willows,  but  rather 
look  up  to  have  them  new  tuned,  by  a  fresh  anointing. 


SERMON  II. 

Galatians  ii.  16. — Knowing  that  a  man  is  not  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law, 
but  by  tlie  faith  of  Jesus  Clnist ;  even  we  have  believed  in  Jesus  Ciirist,  that 
we  mlglit  be  justified  by  the  faith  of  Christ,  and  not  by  the  works  of  the  law ; 
for  by  the  works  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh  be  justified. 

It  is  a  sweet  word,  and  full  of  encouragement  to  us  Protest- 
mts,  to  suffer  for  the  truth,  as  well  as  to  defend  it:  "Lift  up 
your  eyes  to  the  heavens,  and  look  upon  the  earth  beneath;  for 
the  heavens  shall  vanish  away  like  smoke,  and  the  earth  shall 


OF   JUSTIFICATION.  265 

wax  old,  like  a  garment;  and  they  that  dwell  therein  shall  die 
in  like  manner:  but  hiy  salvation  shall  be  for  ever,  and  my 
righteousness  shall  not  be  abolished,"  Isa.  li.  6.  Let  the  bat- 
teries raised  by  hell,  and  by  Rome,  against  the  Protestant  doc- 
trine of  a  sinner's  justification  before  God,  be  never  so  many, 
and  be  never  so  artfully  planted,  and  boldly  discharged,  they 
shall  not  be  able  finally  to  prevail  against  it.  He,  who  waved 
his  right  of  being  in  heaven  as  soon  as  he  was  incarnate,  and, 
in  that  sense,  left  heaven  to  fulfil  all  righteousness,  will  not 
suffer  such  a  jewel  to  be  stolen  out  of  his  mediatorial  crown,  as 
is  his  suretiship  righteousness. 

2.  I  shall  proceed  to  show  what  jiart  is,  in  Scripture,  assigned 
unto  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  business  of  a  sinner's  justifi- 
cation before  God;  where  I  beg  leave  to  premise,  for  the  pre- 
venting of  mistakes,  which  some  are  ready  to  run  into,  and  for 
the  clearing  of  several  texts  of  Scripture,  which  the  Arians  are 
very  fond  of,  that  in  many  places  of  Scripture,  especially  in  the 
New  Testament,  where  Christ  speaks  of  himself,  and  is  spoken 
of,  it  is  spoken  of  him  either  as  the  Son  of  man,  or  as  sustaining 
the  character,  and  discharging  the  office  of  a  Mediator.  Thus 
is  that  scripture  to  be  understood,  in  which  Christ  tells  his  dis- 
ciples, that  "the  Father  is  greater  than  he;"  and  that  other, 
with  many  more,  where  Christ  assures  us,  that  "  the  Son  can 
do  nothing  of  himself;"  and  thus  I  shall  all  along  consider  him. 
This  lessens  not  the  necessity,  nor  the  truth  of  Christ's  being 
truly  God,  as  well  as  man,  but  presupposes  it;  for,  as  in  nature 
a  human  body,  suppose  it  had  life  and  motion,  without  a  human 
soul,  would  be  fit  for  no  post  of  service,  neither  in  church  nor 
in  state;  so  Christ's  human  nature  alone,  though  the  first  crea- 
ture, and  the  noblest  of  .ill  creatures,  without  his  divine,  would 
no  ways  be  fit  to  sustain  the  character,  nor  to  discharge  the 
office  of  a  Mediator.  If  we  suppose  a  crystal  globe  to  be  never 
so  large  and  clear,  would  it,  of  itself,  have  in  it  any  light  or 
heat :  but  if  we  could  suppose  it  filled  with  the  body  of  the  sun, 
how  would  it  glow  and  shine?  He,  in  whom  dwells  all  the 
fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily,  which  is  affirmed  in  Scripture 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  for  it  is  said,  "  In  him  dwelleth  all 
the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily,"  Col.  ii.  9,  must  outshine  in 
glory,  and  outdo  in  usefulness,  all  mere  creatures,  though  there 
were  never  so  many  worlds  of  them,  and  be  infinitely  fit  and 
capable  to  be  Head  of  the  church,  and  Saviour  of  the  body; 
nothing  can  be  too  difficult  for  him  to  effect,  nor  too  great  for 
him  to  accomplish ;  be  it  to  finish  transgression,  in  a  way  of 
satisfaction,  or  to  bring  in  everlasting  righteousness.  Let  us 
conceive,  if  we  can,  of  any  more  fit  to  quicken  the  dead  in  sins, 
and  to  raise  the  dead  in  nature ;  to  govern  the  world,  and  to 
judge  it ;  to  bring  off  more  than  conquerors  and  safe  to  glory, 
such  as  belong  to  the  whole  election  of  the  Father's  grace,  or  to 

34 


266  OF    JUSTIFICATION. 

make  all  things  new,  than  He  is  in  whom  dwells  all  the  fulness 
of  the  Godhead  bodily.  This  being  premised,  Cln-ist's  part  in 
tlie  business  of  a  sinner's  justification  before  God,  according  to 
the  Scripture,  is  to  bring  in  a  justifying  righteousness  for  the 
whole  election  of  the  Father's  grace.  He,  as  the  Surety  of  a 
better  covenant,  was  called  of  God,  and  freely  undertook  to  pay 
his  people's  debts,  both  that  of  satisfaction  to  the  law,  as  a 
broken  covenant,  and  that  of  service  to  the  law,  as  a  covenant 
of  works.  He  was  accordingly  made  of  a  woman,  and  made 
under  the  law:  "When  the  fulness  of  time  was  come,  God  sent 
forth  his  Son,  made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law,"  Gal. 
iv.  4,  that  is,  under  its  preceptive  part,  as  a  covenant,  as  well 
as  its  penalty,  a  broken  covenant ;  its  preceptive  part,  as  a 
covenant,  being  its  principal  part;  to  enforce  which,  all  penal- 
ties, even  among  men,  are  added  to  their  laws:  as  a  covenant, 
the  first  Adam  transgressed  it ;  and  therefore  it  became  Christ, 
the  second  Adam,  thus  to  fulfil  it,  God's  perfect  law  was,  to 
be  sure,  in  the  utmost  perfection  thereof,  written  on  Christ's 
heart  and  nature,  and  so  expressed  throughout  the  whole  of  his 
life:  "Thy  law  is  within  my  heart,"  Psal,  xl.  8,  He  did  more 
and  better  work  for  God,  that  is,  work  of  greater  worth  and 
consequence,  in  the  short  space  of  thirty  odd  years,  than  the 
first  Adam  would,  or  could  have  done,  had  he  continued  stead- 
fast in  God's  covenant  to  this  day,  Christ  was  fulfilling  all 
righteousness  whilst  lying  in  the  cradle;  which,  doubtless,  was 
part  of  his  humiliation:  of  whom,  whilst  an  infant,  it  may  be 
said,  that  the  first  Adam,  at  the  head  of  this  lower  creation, 
was  but  as  his  menial  servant,  being  the  figure  of  him  who  was 
to  come,  "  who  is  the  figure  of  him  who  was  to  come,"  Rom. 
V.  14.  Christ,  the  second  Adam,  was  fulfilling  all  righteous- 
ness throughout  the  whole  of  his  private  life;  for  this  also  was 
part  of  his  humiliation.  Suppose  the  natural  sun  should  be 
taken  out  of  the  heavens,  and  be  so  lessened  and  darkened,  as 
to  be  hid  for  a  time  in  one  of  the  caverns  of  this  earth,  to  bring 
about  any  of  his  adorable  purposes,  who  made  it;  would  not 
this  surprise  and  fill  with  wonder  all  the  inhabitants  of  this 
globe?  I  may  safely  say,  that  the  obscure  and  private  life  of 
Christ,  the  Sun  of  righteousness,  was  fuller  of  wonder.  He 
went  on  fulfilling  all  righteousness,  active  as  well  as  passive,  at 
Jerusalem,  and  every  where  else,  till  he  bowed  on  the  cross  his 
high  and  holy  head,  saying,  "  It  is  finished."  Christ's  sureti- 
ship  righteousness  may  be  well  called,  for  it  really  is,  a  robe  of 
super-creation  righteousness,  being,  in  all  respects,  beyond  and 
above  the  dues  of  creation;  which  no  creature,  neither  men  nor 
angels,  could  so  much  as  ever  have  thought  of,  and  much  less 
have  expected  at  his  hand,  who  was  their  Creator,  how  liberal 
soever  in  other  respects  he  had  been  towards  them.  This  robe 
lay  hid  in  the  uppermost  and  most  secret  recesses  of  God's 


OF   JUSTIFICATION.  267 

wardrobe,  or  rather  heart,  being  wholly  super-creation  grace: 
though  Adam  had,  in  a  sense,  the  moon  under  his  feet,  he  could 
not  ttius  challenge  a  being  clothed  with  the  sun,  which  was  not 
then  risen  in  his  horizon ;  though  the  first  Adam's  world  was 
made  by  Christ,  and  he  was  Christ's  figure,  yet  he  knew  it  not. 
This  excellent  and  excelling  piece  of  knowledge  was  reserved 
for  gospel  times;  which  so  ennobles  the  dispensation  we  are 
under,  that  it  is  called  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  of  heaven. 
Christ's  suretiship  righteousness  may  be  also  called,  for  it  really 
is,  a  robe  of  super-angelic  righteousness :  which  as  far  excels 
and  outshines  the  righteousness  of  all  the  elect  angels,  as  the 
shining  of  the  sun,  in  its  meridian  strength,  does  that  of  the  new 
moon:  for,  would  it  not  be  blasphemy  to  call  theirs,  as  Christ's 
is  called,  "the  righteousness  of  God;"  or  to  say  that  they  are 
"made  the  righteousness  of  God,"  in  their  own,  as  we  are  said 
to  be  made  in  Christ's  righteousness?  God  no  where  calls  their 
righteousness,  as  he  does  Christ's,  "my  righteousness;  I  bring 
near  my  righteousness,"  Isa.  xlvi.  13.  Christ's  suretiship  right- 
eousness may  be  also  called,  for  it  really  is,  a  super-paradisaical 
righteousness.  Had  our  first  parents  continued  steadfast  in 
God's  covenant,  their  robe  of  justifying  righteousness  had  been 
complete:  but  not  of  like  worth  with  this,  the  merit,  as  well 
as  the  atoning  virtue  of  which  is  infinite.  What  is  the  richest 
livery  of  a  lackey,  if  compared  with  the  royal  robes  of  a  king? 
Nothing  done  by  the  figure  of  him  that  was  to  come,  can  be 
compared  with  what  was  done  by  Christ,  the  substance,  whose 
suretiship  righteousness  has  in  it  to  an  overflowing,  all  the  en- 
dearing, recommending  properties,  which  that  of  a  Saviour  can 
have,  to  recommend  it  to  sinners.     As, 

(1.)  It  is  a  si)i-Ji  HIS  king  righteousness;  so  it  is  called  in  the 
Old  Testament;  fo  finish  trunsgression,  Dan.  ix.  24,  and  it  is 
abundantly  declared  so  to  be  in  the  New.  To  finish  the  sins 
but  of  one,  even  the  least  of  sinners,  in  a  way  of  satisfaction, 
would  have  rendered  bankrupt  and  beggared  the  archangel,  not 
to  say  all  the  angels  in  heaven;  whereas  Christ,  as  surety  of  a 
better  testament,  has,  in  a  way  most  expressive  of  all  the  divine 
perfections,  finished  the  numberless  sins  of  the  many  thousands 
of  God's  elect;  who  were  chosen  not  only  with  Christ,  as  an 
elder  brother,  but  in  him  as  an  Head.  The  Scripture  says, 
"God  has  chosen  us  in  him,"  Eph.  i.  4,  not  to  prevent  our  fall; 
for  that  would  have  obviated  his  other  character  of  being  our 
Saviour;  for  "he  is  Head  of  the  church,  and  Saviour  of  the 
body,"  Eph.  v.  23;  but  to  deliver  us  out  of  the  pit,  by  bringing 
us  off  more  than  conquerors,  and  fixing  us  in  glory  beyond 
all  danger,  or  so  much  as  a  possibility  of  losing  the  mansions 
allotted  us  in  his  Father's  house,  where  we  are  to  be  for  ever 
with  the  Lord;  "  So  shall  we  be  ever  with  the  Lord,"  1  Thess. 
iv.  17. 


268  OF   JUSTIFICATION. 

(2.)  Being  a  sin-finishing,  it  must  of  consequence  be  a  jus- 
tice-satififying  righteousness;  for  the  demands  of  God's  vindic- 
tive justice  upon  us,  and  the  whole  of  its  controversy  with  us, 
are  founded  on  sin;  this  would  have  no  more  a  controversy 
with  the  elect,  among  the  children  of  men,  were  they  not  sin- 
ners, than  it  has  with  the  elect  angels.  I  might  have  added,  it 
is  not  barely  a  justice-satisfying,  but  a  justice-declaring  right- 
eousness; "  To  declare  his  righteousness,  that  he  might  be  just," 
Rom.  iii.  26.  The  flames  of  hell,  or  all  the  penal  suflerings  of 
men,  and  of  devils  in  the  bottomless  pit,  are  not  so  full  a  decla- 
ration of  God's  vindictive  justice,  as  were  the  suretiship  suffer- 
mgs  of  Christ,  the  Lamb  slain.  The  awaking  of  God's  sword 
against  the  man  that  was  his  fellow,  is  a  non-such  instance  of 
God's  vindictive  justice. 

(3.)  It  is  a  laiv-ansioering,  or  rather  magnifijing  righteous- 
ness. Thus  it  is  spoken  of  by  the  prophet :  "  The  Lord  is  well 
pleased  for  his  righteousness'  sake;  he  will  magnify  the  law, 
and  make  it  honourable,"  Isa.  xlii.  21.  Sin  being  the  trans- 
gression of  the  law,  pours  the  utmost  contempt,  both  upon  it, 
and  upon  God,  the  Lawgiver;  and  were  it  as  powerful,  as  it  is 
exceeding  sinful,  it  would  for  ever  cancel  the  one,  and  dethrone 
the  other:  the  sinner's  wish  would  be  every  sinner's  attempt, 
that  there  might  be  no  God.  Now,  the  law  on  which  our  first 
parents,  in  eating  the  forbidden  fruit,  poured  such  contempt, 
and  on  which  like  contempt  is  poured  by  all  their  numerous 
offspring,  in  their  several  generations;  Christ,  as  the  fulfiUer 
of  all  righteousness,  not  only  fulfilled,  to  every  jot  or  tittle,  but 
by  so  doing,  because  of  the  dignity  of  his  person,  so  magnified 
it,  as  it  could  have  been  no  other  way,  that  we  can  conceive 
of,  magnified.  This  righteousness  therefore  of  his,  though  it  is 
manifested  without  the  law,  from  mount  Zion,  and  not  from 
mount  Sinai;  yet  it  is  witnessed  to  by  the  law,  as  well  as  by 
the  prophets;  "  Now  the  righteousness  of  God,  without  the  law, 
is  manifested;  being  witnessed  to  by  the  law,  and  by  the  pro- 
phets," Rom.  iii.  21.     From  all  which  it  follows,  that, 

(4.)  Christ's  suretiship  righteousness  is  not  only  a  God-ap- 
peasing, but  a  God-delighting  righteousness;  for,  is  not  the 
whole  of  our  salvation  obtained  thereby,  expressly  called  the 
pleasure  of  the  Lord?  "The  pleasure  of  the  Lord  shall  prosper 
in  his  hand,"  Isa.  liii.  10.  Never  was  the  Father  better  pleased, 
for  never  was  he  more  glorified,  by  any  righteousness,  than  he 
was  by  Christ's;  who  was  raised  from  the  dead,  as  God's  right- 
eous servant,  and  his  people's  righteous  surety;  not  by  a  single 
attribute,  such  as  the  power  of  God,  or  by  the  goodness  and 
tender  mercy  of  our  God ;  but  by  the  glory  of  the  Father. 
"  Christ  was  raised  up  from  the  dead,  by  the  glory  of  the  Fa- 
ther," Rom.  vi.  4;  this  is  a  full  proof  that  he  was  an  offering, 
and  a  sacrifice  to  God  for  a  sweet  smelling  savour. 


OF   JUSTIFICATION.  269 

Thus  we  see  what  part  is  allotted  in  Scripture  to  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  in  the  business  of  a  sinner's  justification  before 
God.  His  province  was  to  finish  transgression  in  a  way  not  of 
bribery,  not  of  composition,  but  most  expressive  of  the  glory  of 
all  the  divine  perfections;  that  is,  in  a  way  of  real  and  full  satis- 
faction; and  so  to  make  an  end  of  sin,  as  in  the  time  and  sea- 
son thereof,  to  put  an  everlasting  end  to  sinning:  for,  as  the 
chosen  people  shall  sorrow  no  more,  so  they  shall  sin  no  more 
for  ever,  when  in  glory;  and  such  reconciliation  for  iniquity 
that  the  once  offended  Majesty  of  heaven  may  not  only  settle 
his  abode  with,  and  among  the  chosen  people,  as  being  his  rest; 
not  desiring  to  be  any  further  glorified  than  he  is  in  them,  and 
by  them,  and  will  be  so  for  ever:  but  may  rejoice  over  them, 
with  singing,  "  The  Lord  thy  God  in  the  midst  of  thee  is  mighty; 
he  will  save,  he  will  rejoice  over  thee  with  joy;  he  will  rest  in 
his  love,  he  will  joy  over  thee  with  singing,"  Zeph.iii.J7:  and 
to  bring  in  for  them  such  an  everlasting  righteousness,  as  will 
outlast  the  lasting  hills,  and  the  canopy  of  heaven  itself;  in 
which  the  saints  will  outshine  angels,  and  be  brought  to  be  next 
to  the  throne :  the  merit  of  which  is  given  forth  in  the  blessings 
of  grace  here,  and  in  those  of  glory  hereafter;  and  can  no  more 
be  lessened,  than  Christ's  mediatory  fulness  can  be  exhausted ; 
from  which  the  gospel  receives  its  name,  being  called  the  min- 
istration of  righteousness,  "  Much  more  does  the  ministration  of 
righteousness  exceed  in  glory,"  2  Cor.  iii.  9,  and  in  which  all 
who  believe  come  up  with  an  everlasting  acceptance,  with  and 
before  God  the  Judge  of  all. 

Christ,  as  the  Lord  our  righteousness,  fills  both  testaments 
with  his  glory;  for  thus  considered  he  is  the  sum  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament promises  and  prophecies,  and  the  substance  of  Old  Tes- 
tament types  and  figures;  and  thus  considered  he  is  the  treasure 
hid  in  the  field  of  the  New.  Paul's  heart  and  life  were  not 
fuller  of  his  pharisaic  performances,  before  conversion,  than  they 
were  of  Christ,  as  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness,  to  every 
one  that  believes,  after  conversion:  his  lip  and  pen,  though  once 
the  lip  and  pen  of  a  blasphemer,  sounded  the  trumpet  of  the 
gospel  louder  and  sweeter,  and  with  greater  success  than  any 
before  or  since  his  day.  This  was  a  fuller  confirmation  of  the 
truth  of  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  and  of  this  of  imputed  right- 
eousness, than  it  would  be,  should  the  Mufti  turn  Christian,  or 
the  Pope  become  Protestant;  and  so  both  preachers  of  this  right- 
eousness which  Christ  wears  as  Head  of  the  church,  and  surety 
of  the  better  covenant,  upon  the  throne ;  as  well  as  all  the  saints, 
shine  in  it  about  the  throne. 

3.  My  next  undertaking  is  to  say  something  concerning  the 
work  of  the  ever  blessed  Spirit  in  this  great  and  weighty  afiair, 
a  sinner's  justification  before  God.  His  office,  according  to  the 
Scriptures,  is  to  apply  purchased  salvation;  and  of  consequence, 


270  OF   JUSTIFICATION. 

to  bring  near  this  righteousness;  "I  bring  near  my  righteous 
ness,"  Isa.  xlvi.  13,  saith  God,  speaking  of  this  robe,  and  gift 
of  righteousness;  which  he  doth  not  only  doctrinally  by  his 
word;  but  internally  and  powerfully  by  his  own  Spirit:  who  is 
no  more  a  created  being,  or  the  spirit  of  a  creature,  than  the 
power  of  God  is  a  created  power,  or  the  power  of  a  creature. 
Thus  in  all  probability  it  was  brought  near  to  our  first  parents; 
we  can  hardly  think  that  so  great  a  preacher  as  God  should  beat 
the  air,  and  speak  only  to  the  ear,  without  speaking  to  the  heart 
of  the  first  Adam;  who  was  to  hand  down  the  gospel  to,  and  to 
teach  his  children  the  fear  of  the  Lord.  He  also  brought  it  near 
to  two  of  Adam's  sons,  to  Abel  and  to  Seth;  and  to  how  many 
more  of  his  children  we  know  not.  He  also  brought  it  near  to 
the  antediluvian  fathers ;  particularly  to  Noah,  who  was  a 
preacher  thereof.  God  by  his  Spirit  called  Abraham  out  of  a 
land  of  graven  images;  and  gave  him  by  an  eye  of  faith  to  see 
at  such  a  distance  of  time  Christ's  day,  as  he  was  the  finisher 
of  sin,  and  fulfiller  of  all  righteousness.  By  the  same  searcher 
of  the  deep  things  of  God,  it  was  brought  near  to  Moses,  and 
to  all  the  chosen  people  under  the  Old  Testament;  and  to  those 
unlikely  instruments,  the  first  founders  of  the  gospel  dispensa- 
tion, under  the  New;  who,  though  illiterate  fishermen,  were  so 
taught  of  God  to  spread  the  net  of  the  gospel,  that  one  of  them 
caught,  that  is,  converted,  three  thousands  souls  at  once.  Who, 
save  the  Spirit  of  life  and  power,  could  of  a  persecuting  blas- 
pheming Pharisee,  make  such  an  unwearied  zealous  preacher 
of  Christ's  righteousness,  as  the  apostle  Paul  was?  This  right- 
eousness is  brought  near,  doctrinally,  to  all  who  hear  the  gospel, 
or  have  the  Bible;  but  powerfully,  and  savingly,  only  to  such 
as  believe. 

Now  if  any  are  so  curious  as  to  inquire,  why  such  a  right- 
eousness has  not  all  along  been  carried  both  doctrinally  and  sav- 
ingly to  all  mankind,  I  answer.  To  every  individual  soul  for 
whom  it  was  designed  by  the  Father,  and  was  wrought  out  by 
the  Son,  it  hath  all  along,  and  shall  to  the  end  of  time,  be  sav- 
ingly revealed:  and  as  for  others,  they  have  all  along,  in  every 
place  where  the  gospel  has  been  preached,  poured  the  utmost 
contempt  upon  it;  so  that  to  send  it  doctrinally,  where  God  has 
not  a  chosen  people,  is  to  expose  it.  Now,  how  few  soever 
God's  chosen  people  were  before  the  flood,  and  were  all  along 
under  the  Old  Testament,  and  still  are  under  the  New;  yet,  un- 
der the  latter  day  glory,  they  will  appear  to  be  many  as  the 
drops  of  dew,  and  as  the  sand  upon  the  sea  shore;  especially  if 
the  thousand  years  of  Satan's  binding,  and  of  the  church's  re- 
freshment, mentioned  in  the  Revelations,  be  a  thousand  of  pro- 
phetical years;  during  which  long  space  of  time,  elect  sinners 
shall  fly  as  a  cloud,  and  flock  unto  Christ  as  doves  to  their  win- 
dows.    To  be  sure,  the  numbers  of  God's  elect,  when  all  of 


OF   JUSTIFICATION.  271 

tnem  shall  be  Drought  safe  to  happiness,  will  be  such  as  shall  be 
most  for  the  manifestation,  of  the  glory  of  each  divine  person, 
and  of  all  the  divine  perfections:  a  congregation  too  great  for 
any  man  to  number,  even  "  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand," 
which  is  a  hundred  millions:  "and  thousands  of  thousands," 
Rev.  V.  11,  that  is,  millions  without  number.  In  comparison 
with  whom  they  in  hell  are  dropped,  and  no  mention  is  made  of 
them,  where  we  read  of  the  winding  up  of  dispensations;  "Every 
creature  which  is  in  heaven,  and  on  the  earth,  and  under  the 
earth,  and  such  as  are  in  the  sea,  and  all  that  are  in  them,  heard. 
I  saying.  Blessing,  and  honour,  and  glory,  and  power  be  unto 
him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  to  the  Lamb  for  ever  and 
ever."  So  extensive,  and  so  glorious  will  the  reign  of  grace 
be  in  superabounding,  where  sin  in  such  numberless  number 
of  instances  hath  abounded :  for,  if  the  persons  pardoned  can- 
not be  numbered,  much  less  can  their  sins  be  so,  that  are  for- 
given 'them. 

To  distinguish  aright  between  the  letter  of  both  Testaments, 
and  the  Spirit  of  power,  which  accompanies  the  preaching  of 
the  gospel,  as  it  is  revealed  in  both  Testaments,  and  makes  it 
become  effectual,  is  of  the  utmost  consequence:  for  though  the 
letter  of  the  gospel  is  suited  to  us,  as  we  are  rational  creatures; 
yet  such  is  the  blindness  of  the  sinner's  mind,  through  sin,  and 
the  hardness  of  his  heart,  that  instead  of  giving  life,  it  kills; 
whereas  the  promised  Spirit,  who  is  a  Spirit  of  light,  life,  and 
power,  suits  us,  as  we  are  dead  in  sins,  and  without  strength. 
The  apostle  thus  distinguishes,  and  so  should  we:  "Who  also 
hath  made  us  able  ministers  of  the  New  Testament;  not  of  the 
letter,  but  of  the  Spirit;  for  the  letter  killeth,  but  the  Spirit 
giveth  life,"  2  Cor.  iii.  6.  By  the  letter  of  the  word,  God  is 
drawing  us  with  the  cords  of  a  man,  which  is  his  own  phrase, 
"  I  drew  him  with  the  cords  of  a  man,"  Hos.  xi.  4.  To  which 
cords  I  would  refer  all  gospel  calls  and  invitations,  exhortations 
and  dehortations  ;  and  those  most  solemn  protestations,  that  he 
delights  not  in  the  death  of  sinners.  "  Say  to  them,  as  I  live, 
saith  the  Lord  God,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the 
wicked;  but  that  the  wicked  turn  from  his  way  and  live :  Turn 
ye,  turn  ye  from  your  evil  ways;  for  why  will  ye  die,  0 
house  of  Israel?"  Ezek.  xxxiii.  11.  And  the  most  conde- 
scending of  entreaties ;  "  As  though  God  did  beseech  you  by 
us,  we  pray  you,  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God,"  2 
Cor.  V.  20.  And  those  strong  arguings ;  "  Wherefore  do  ye 
spend  money  for  that  which  is  not  bread?  and  your  labour  lor 
that  which  satisfies  not?  Hearken  diligently  to  me,  and  eat 
ye  that  which  is  good,  and  let  your  soul  delight  itself  in  fat- 
ness," Isa.  Iv.  2.  As  in  Scripture  there  is  the  language  of 
creation  due,  such  as  that  to  Cain,  "  If  thou  dost  wellj'^shalt 
thou  not  be  accepted?"  Gen.  iv.  7;  so  there  is  the  language  of 


272  OF   JUSTIFICATION. 

the  law,  as  a  rule  of  walk;  which  is  the  very  best  consideration 
of  the  moral  law,  which  was  written  as  a  rule  of  duty  on  the 
hearts  and  consciences  of  our  first  parents  before  God  entered 
mto  covenant  with  them,  of  which  the  apostle  speaks;  "Who 
show  the  works  of  the  law  written  upon  their  hearts,"  Rom.  ii. 
15.  There  is  also  the  language  of  the  law,  as  a  covenant  of 
works;  which  is,  Do  this,  and  live;  "Or,  the  man  that  does 
these  things  shall  live  in  them,"  Rom.  x.  15.  There  is  also  a 
language  of  the  law,  as  a  broken  covenant,  which  includes  the 
thunders  of  Sinai,  and  tells  us  what  sin  is,  and  what  it  deserves, 
and  is,  according  to  the  righteous  judgment  of  God,  due  to  sin- 
ners for  their  sins;  how  he  might  have  appointed  all  to  wrath, 
instead  of  appointing  any  to  obtain  salvation  by  Jesus  Christ. 
Under  this  head  is  included  the  language  due  to  free-will, 
though  fallen,  of  which  the  law  takes  no  notice,  to  make  any 
abatements.  The  greatest  part  of  Scripture  language  is  that  of 
Sinai,  which  is  adapted  to  show  to  sinners  both  their  want  of 
Christ,  and  his  worth.  This  takes  in  the  doctrinal  part  of 
Scripture,  with  all  its  calls  and  invitations,  its  motives  and 
encouragements,  with  all  its  absolute  promises;  such  as  that 
great  word  of  promise,  which  has  all  along  been,  and  shall,  to 
the  end  of  time,  be  made  good  to  the  whole  election  of  the 
Father's  grace ;  "  I  will  be  to  them  a  God  and  they  shall  be  to 
me  a  people,"  Heb.  viii.  10.  The  full  birth  of  which  fruitful 
promise  is  reserved  till  the  dawn  of  latter-day  glory,  when  the 
fulness  of  the  Gentiles  shall  come  in,  and  all  Israel  be  saved  : 
at  present  we  see  but  the  first  fruits  of  electing  love;  the  full 
vintage  will  not  be  till  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  as  it  shines  forth 
in  the  face,  and  in  the  gospel  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  shall  be 
so  revealed,  that  all  flesh  shall  see  it  together.  In  the  mean 
while,  we,  who  preach  the  gospel,  are  to  publish  it  in  general 
terms,  leaving  it  to  the  Spirit,  to  make  special  application  thereof 
to  the  chosen  people.  Thus  Christ  preached  it;  "  God  so  loved 
the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever 
believes  on  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life," 
John  iii.  16.  And  so  should  we,  of  whose  success  in  so  doing 
we  read;  "The  election  has  obtained  it,"  Rom.  xi.  7.  And  of 
their  acceptance;  "  For  we  are  to  God  a  sweet  savour  of  Christ, 
in  them  that  are  saved,  and  in  them  that  perish,"  2  Cor.  ii.  15. 
We  may  safely  conclude,  that  as  the  numbers  of  the  elect  are 
such  as  shall,  in  the  end,  be  found  to  be  most  for  the  manifes- 
tation of  his  glory,  who  chose  them,  so  is  every  circumstance 
relating  to  them ;  such  as  the  time  of  their  birth  into  this  world, 
as  well  as  the  time  of  their  being  born  again,  and  brought  safe 
to  glory. 

The  usual  way  of  the  Spirit,  in  bringing  near  Christ's  right- 
eousness to  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  God's  elect,  is  to  erect 
such  a  tribunal  in  the  court  of  conscience,  as  all  the  business 


OF   JUSTIFICATION.  273 

and  pleasures  of  life  cannot  hush  or  bribe;  before  which  the 
most  bold  and  daring  of  sinners,  how  careless  and  secure  soever 
they  may  for  many  years  have  been,  are  secretly  cited,  and 
canno*  help  making  their  appearance;  where  their  past  lives 
and  actions  are  called  over,  and  their  very  hearts  and  natures 
looked  into;  and  they  are  tried  not  only  by  the  letter,  but  by 
the  sT^irituality  of  the  law,  and  found  to  be  rebels  in  heart  and 
life;  and  as  such,  to  be  worthy  of  death,  not  only  temporal,  but 
eternal.  Thus  they,  who  once  dreamed  of  nothing  but  ease 
and  impunity,  become  self-condemned,  and  continue  terrified, 
and  in  distress,  till  they  are  led  by  the  word  and  Spirit  to  Christ, 
as  "  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness,  to  every  man  who 
believes;  in  whom  we  have  redemption  through  his  blood,  the 
forgiveness  of  sin,  according  to  the  richness  of  the  Father's 
grace;"  by  acting  faith  in  whom,  though  it  be  but  a  faith  of 
reliance,  the  storms  raised  in  their  consciences,  by  a  sight  and 
sense  of  sin,  are  stilled,  and  they  are  made  thankful,  as  well  as 
easy,  and  so  fitted  to  run  in  the  ways  of  God's  commands. 
They,  by  the  same  Spirit  that  teaches  them  to  lay  aside  the 
temper  of  the  Pharisee,  and  not  to  work  for  life,  either  by  way 
of  merit  or  atonement,  are  enabled  to  work  from  life,  and  con- 
sequently to  do  more  and  better  work  for  God,  than  all  the 
children  of  men  do  besides:  so  that  God's  handful  of  corn,  on 
the  top  of  the  mourtains,  is  made  to  shake  like  Lebanon;  and 
they  of  the  city,  thai  is,  of  Zion,  are  brought  to  flourish,  like  the 
grass  upon  the  earth. 

Thus  God,  who  was  with  Christ  in  bringing  in  this  righteous- 
ness, teaches,  by  his  word  and  Spirit,  all  the  chosen  people  sub- 
mission to  it;  who  thankfully  receive  it,  and  from  the  heart  rest 
upon  and  plead  it,  as  their  sole  justifying  righteousness  with 
and  before  God,  the  Judge  of  all:  by  being  made  light  in  the 
Lord,  they  are  brought  to  see  both  their  want,  and  the  worth 
of  this  righteousness;  and,  by  being  made  a  willing  people,  they 
are  brought  to  cast  anchor  upon  it.  As  the  apostle  did,  so  do 
they,  from  the  day  of  their  conversion,  "  desire  to  be  found  in 
Christ,  not  having  their  own  righteousness,  which  is  of  the  law, 
but  that  which  is  through  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ;  evon  the 
righteousness  which  is  of  God  by  faith." 

I  shall  conclude  this  discourse,  by  putting  God's  justified 
ones  upon  acting  a  kind  becoming  part  towards  all  mankind, 
that  is,  pleading  the  promise  of  the  Spirit  for  all  flesh.  This, 
in  a  way  of  eminency,  is  called  the  promise  of  the  Fathei  under 
the  New  Testament:  "  But  wait  for  the  promise  of  the  Father,'* 
says  Christ,  Acts  i.  4;  as  the  promise  of  the  Messiah  was  the 
promise  of  the  Father  under  the  Old:  and  as  Old  Testament 
saints  pleaded  day  and  night  the  one,  so  should  New  Testament 
saints  be  as  instant  and  constant  in  pleading  the  other;  for  it  is 
by  making  good  this  word  of  promise,  that  the  man  of  sin  is 

35 


274  OF    JUSTIFICATION. 

to  be  destroyed,  "Whom  the  Lord  shall  destroy  by  the  Spirit 
of  his  mouth,  and  by  the  brightness  of  liis  coming,"  2  Thess 
ii.  8,  The  fuhiess  of  the  Gentiles  is  to  be  brought  in,  and  ah 
Israel  is  to  be  saved.  They  who  are  made  the  righteousness 
of  God  in  their  justification,  and,  in  that  sense,  are  clothed  with 
the  sun,  should  endeavour  to  be  of  as  public  use  and  service, 
in  a  spiritual  sense,  as  the  sun  is  in  a  natural;  whose  light  and 
influences  are  not  restrained  to  any  place,  nor  part  of  the  globe, 
but  reach  and  enlighten,  at  due  seasons,  as  well  as  cherish  the 
whole  earth.  Thus  should  the  prayers  of  New  Testament 
saints,  for  the  pourings  forth  of  the  Spirit,  as  he  is  Christ's 
glorifier,  reach  the  pagan  parts  of  the  world,  that  they  may  be 
brought  to  cast  their  idols  to  the  moles,  and  to  the  bats:  they 
should  also  reach  the  Mahometan  parts  of  the  world,  that  they 
may  no  longer  be  imposed  upon  by  that  false  and  filthy  prophet, 
Mahomet,  but  be  brought  thankfully  to  exchange  the  Koran 
for  the  Bible:  thus  should  they  reach  the  Antichristian  parts  of 
the  world,  that  seventy  millions  of  souls,  which  Papists  are 
computed  to  be,  may  no  longer  carry  the  mark  of  the  beast  in 
their  foreheads,  but  be  brought  to  hate  the  whore,  and  make 
her  desolate:  they  should  also  reach  God's  ancient  people  the 
Jews,  who,  concerning  the  gospel,  are  enemies,  for  our  sakes, 
because  that  was,  by  the  express  command  of  God,  preached 
to  the  Gentiles;  but,  as  touching  the  election,  they  are  beloved, 
for  the  Father's  sake ;  or  as  they  once  were  a  chosen  people, 
and  shall  as  certainly  be  called,  as  they  are  for  a  time  rejected, 
whose  call  will  be  like  life  from  the  dead.  Thus  for  believers 
to  ply  the  throne,  and  to  plead  the  promise  of  the  Spirit,  is  to 
become  public  blessings  to  mankind,  greater  blessings  than  most 
imagine.  A  saint  thus  plying  the  throne,  in  a  cottage,  may 
be,  and  is  of  greater  consequence  than  many  a  prince  on  the 
throne. 

To  encourage  New  Testament  saints  thus  to  plead  this  great 
promise,  Christ  spoke  those  sweet  words:  "  If  ye  then,  being 
evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  to  your  children,  how  much 
more  shall  your  heavenly  Father  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them 
that  ask  him?"  Mat.  vii.  11.  Were  it  as  natural  for  man  to 
desire  to  be  useful,  as  it  is  to  be  famous  in  his  generation,  we 
who  believe  should  give  the  God  and  Father  of  Christ  no  rest, 
till  the  Spirit,  from  on  high,  is  poured  forth  upon  all  flesh.  Be- 
lieving parents  cannot  pray  to  greater,  nor  to  better  purpose,  for 
those  dear  parts  of  themselves,  their  children,  than  to  beg  for 
them  the  Spirit,  as  he  is  Christ's  glorifier;  nor  believing  children 
for  their  respected  parents.  Thus  should  all  the  saints  pray  for 
all  in  authority,  and  all  godly  magistrates  pray  for  all  they  rule: 
thus  sliould  all  gospel  ministers  beg  him,  for  the  churches  coni- 
mitted  to  their  care;  and  church  members  beg  him  for  their 
pastors :  thus  should  godly  relations  and  friends  beg  him  for  one 


OF   JUSTIFICATION.  275 

another;  even  masters  for  their  servants,  and  servants  for  their 
masters.  Such  prayers  put  up  in  faith,  would  not  return  to  us 
empty,  but  soon  bring  down  such  a  blessing  upon  us  and  ours, 
as  should  turn  our  declining  autumn,  in  a  spiritual  sense,  into  a 
promising  spring.  Would  any  gladly  know  the  principal  cause 
of  those  many  gray  hairs,  in  a  spiritual  sense,  which,  in  town 
and  country,  are  upon  persons  professing  godliness,  upon  fami- 
lies and  churches?  I  should  return  this  short  answer:  the  pro- 
mise of  the  Spirit  is  not  pleaded  as  it  ought  to  be  by  us  of  the 
New  Testament;  neither  do  we  desire  and  exrpect  him,  under 
his  New  Testament  character,  which  is  that  of  Christ's  glorifier; 
"  He  shall  glorify  me,"  says  Christ.  Christ's  glorifier,  being 
our  Teacher,  Sanctifier,  and  Comforter,  should  encourage  all 
the  followers  of  the  Lamb  to  wait  and  to  watch  for  him,  more 
than  they  who  watch  for  the  morning;  and  to  look  up  as  duly 
as  the  morning  light  appears,  for  a  fresh  anointing,  to  enable 
them,  becomingly,  like  God's  pardoned  and  justified  ones,  to 
perform  the  duties,  to  bear  the  burdens,  and  to  resist  the  temp- 
tations of  every  day.  This  is  the  way  to  be  filled  with  his 
comforts,  and  with  his  fruits;  such  as  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suf- 
fering, gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness,  temperance,  with 
which  the  trees  of  righteousness,  the  planting  of  the  Lord,  should 
abound,  that  he  may  be  glorified. 


SERMON  IIL 

Galatians  ii.  16. — Knowingf  that  a  man  is  not  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law, 
but  by  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ ;  even  we  have  believed  in  Jesus  Christ,  tliat 
we  might  be  justified  by  the  faith  of  Christ,  and  not  by  the  works  of  the  law; 
for  by  the  works  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh  be  justified. 

The  gospel  is  deservedly  called  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  bless- 
ed God;  "According  to  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God, 
which  is  committed  to  my  trust,"  1  Tim.  i.  11.  For  according 
to  it,  such  as  believeare  made  partakers  of  a  divine  nature^ 
in  their  regeneration,  are  made  the  righteousness  of  God,  in 
their  justification,  and  bear  the  image  of  the  heavenly  Adam, 
as  to  their  sanctification;  they  are  one  spirit  with  the  Lord 
whilst  on  earth,  and  are  to  be  for  ever  with  him  above  in  hea- 
ven. These  are  some  of  the  principal  parts  of  that  great  salva- 
tion, which  is  brought  to  light  in  the  gospel:  whence  it  is  plain, 
that  Adam,  at  the  head  of  a  covenant  of  works,  with  this  world 
under  his  feet,  was  no  more  than  the  morning  star:  the  shining 
of  which  is  very  inconsiderable,  if  compared  with  Christ,  the 
sun  of  righteousness.  The  first  Adam,  bright  as  he  might  be, 
in  his  first  rising,  soon  set  in  dismal  darkness,  which  has  covered 
the  earth  ever  since;  whereas  Christ,  the  second  Adam,  is  so 


276  OF   JUSTIFICATION. 

risen  in  the  first  promise,  as  never  to  set,  but  has  filled  both 
Testaments  with  his  glory;  and  thus  he  rises,  never  to  set  in 
the  hearts  of  all  his  saints,  whom  he  will  bring  off,  more  than 
conquerors  above  in  glory.  Now,  as  of  all  the  organs  of  the 
body,  the  eye  is  best  suited  to  take  in  the  beauty  of  this  lower 
world;  so  is  faith,  of  all  the  graces  of  the  Spirit,  best  suited  to 
take  in  the  glory  of  Christ.  This  leads  me  to  the  fourth  thing 
I  proposed. 

4.  I  shall  say  something  concerning  the  use  oi  faith  in  the 
business  of  a  sinner's  justification  before  God.  That  we  are 
justified  by  faith,  is  incontestibly  a  Scripture  phrase;  it  is 
twice  used  in  the  words  of  my  text,  and  very  often  elsewhere; 
especially  in  the  New  Testament,  where  we  are  told,  that 
"Abraham  believed  God,  and  it  was  counted  to  him  for  right- 
eousness," Rom.  iv.  5;  that  is,  to  the  obtaining  of  righteousness, 
as  the  preposition  directs  us  to  interpret  it;  and  that  "  it  shall 
be  thus  imputed  to  all  who  believe,"  verse  24.  The  conclusion 
drawn  by  the  apostle,  in  that  short,  but  excellent  discourse, 
concerning  a  sinner's  justification  before  God,  in  the  third  chap- 
ter of  his  epistle  to  the  Romans,  is  very  remarkable;  "There- 
fore we  conclude,  that  a  man  is  justified  by  faith,  without  the 
deeds  of  the  law,"  Rom.  iii.  2S,  which  Scripture  phrase  is  not 
only  repeated,  but  doubled,  in  the  next  verse,  save  one:  "  See- 
ing it  is  one  God  who  shall  justify  the  circumcision  by  faith, 
and  the  iincircumcision  through  faith,"  ver.  30,  and  is  lifted  up 
like  a  standard  in  the  beginning  of  the  next  chapter:  "There- 
fore being  justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God,  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  Rom.  v.  1,  who  is  said  to  be  "the  end 
of  the  law  for  righteousness,  to  every  one  that  believes,"  Rom. 
X.  4,  whose  righteousness,  though  it  was  wrought  out,  and  is 
laid  up  with  Christ  for  us,  before  we  believe,  is  no  where  spoken 
of  in  Scripture,  as  being  to  and  upon  us,  till  such  time  as  we 
believe;  "  But  now  the  righteousness  of  God,  without  the  law, 
is  manifested,  being  witnessed  by  the  law  and  the  prophets; 
even  the  righteousness  of  God,  which  is  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ, 
to  all,  and  upon  all  them  that  believe,  for  there  is  no  differ- 
ence," Rom.  iii.  21,  23.  It  is  not  here  siid,  that  the  comfort 
flowing  from  this  righteousness  is  ivithin  such  as  believe,  which 
sometimes  is,  and  at  other  times  is  not,  but  that  the  righteous- 
ness itself  is  upon  them.  Thus  often  is  this  phrase  used  by  the 
apostle,  in  his  epistle  to  the  Romans. 

It  is  also  as  often  used  by  him,  in  his  epistle  to  the  erring 
Galatians;  twice,  as  has  been  observed,  in  the  words  of  my 
text,  and  oftener  in  the  following  chapter;  "Even  as  Abraham 
believed  God,  and  it  was  accounted  to  him  for  righteousness," 
Gal.  iii.  6.  "And  the  Scripture  foreseeing  that  God  would 
justify  the  heathen  through  faith,"  verse  8,  which  is  as  good  as 
repeated:  "So  then  they  who  be  of  faith,"  that  is,  who  are 


OF    JUSTIFICATION.   .  277 

justified  by  faith,  "  are  blessed  with  faithful  Abraham,"  Gal. 
iii.  9.  As  is  that  other  phrase,  "  But  that  no  man  is  justified 
by  the  law,  in  the  sight  of  God,  is  evident;  for  the  just  by  faith 
shall  live,"  verse  11.  He  goes  on  to  tell  us,  in  the  same  chap- 
ter, that  "  the  Scripture  has  concluded  all  under  sin,  that  the 
promise,  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,  might  be  given  to  them  that 
believe,"  verse  22,  and  that  "  the  law  was  our  schoolmaster  to 
bring  us  to  Christ,  that  we  might  be  justified  by  faith,"  verse 
24.  He  unbosoms  himself,  and  lays  open  the  desires  of  his 
own  heart  in  this  weighty  aff'air,  in  his  epistle  to  the  Philippi- 
ans;  "  And  be  found  in  him,  not  having  mine  own  righteous- 
ness, which  is  of  the  law,  but  that  which  is  through  the  faith  of 
Christ,  the  righteousness  which  is  of  God  by  faith,"  Phil.  iii. 
9.  In  which  place  he  not  only  desires  to  have  the  peace  and 
comfort  which  flows  from  this  righteousness,  but  the  righteous- 
ness itself,  which  is  by  faith;  so  that  to  be  justified  by  faith,  is  a 
Scripture  phrase. 

But  vve  no  where  read  of  being  justified ^b/'  our  faith,  nor  of 
our  being  justified  before  faith;  neither  of  these  are  Scripture 
phrases;  they  who  should  use  them,  would  teach  in  words  never 
used  by  Christ  and  his  apostles,  in  teaching  doctrines  which  must 
be  expressed  in  new  words,  and  not  in  those  wholesome  words 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  fill  both  Testaments.  How 
empty,  even  of  sense,  would  my  text  be,  were  its  language  thus 
changed?  "Knowing  that  a  man  is  not  justified  by  the  works 
of  the  law,  but  before  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ;  we  have  be- 
lieved in  Jesus  Christ,  that  we  might  be  justified  before  we  be- 
lieve." And  how  empty  of  the  gospel  should  we  read  them, 
"  Knowing  that  a  man  is  not  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law, 
but  for  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ;  even  we  have  believed  in 
Christ,  that  we  might  be  justified  for  our  faith  in  Christ?"  It 
is,  doubtless,  safest,  as  in  walk  and  worship,  so  in  words  and 
phrases,  to  keep  close  to  the  rule  of  Scripture,  and  in  the  things 
of  God,  to  speak  as  do  the  oracles  of  God  ;  which  no  Ariau  or 
Arminian  ever  did,  or  can  do.  All  new  schemes  call  for  a  new 
Bible,  and  errors  of  all  sorts  coin  new  words  and  phrases.  What 
the  heart  is  in  the  body,  which  is  first  formed,  and  first  moves, 
that  is  faith  in  the  new  creation;  it  is  first  formed,  as  it  were, 
or  at  least  is  first  actuated,  and  drawn  forth  towards  Christ,  as 
he  is  God's  salvation.  Regeneration  therefore  is,  for  the  com- 
fort of  babes  in  Christ,  described  by  the  lowest  act  of  faith  un- 
feigned; "Whosoever  believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  is  born 
of  God,"  John  v.  2,  which  new  birth,  small  as  it  may  appear  at 
the  first  to  be,  though  but  like  the  dawn  of  the  morn,  is  "  the 
kingdom  of  God  within  us." 

The  use  and  ofiice  of  faith,  in  the  business  of  a  sinner's  justi- 
fication before  God,  is  not  to  piece  out  the  glorious  robe  of 
Christ's  suretiship  imputed  righteousness;  but  the  faith  of  the 


278  OF   JUSTIFICATION. 

operation  of  God  points  out  the  persons  for  whom  this  riglit- 
eousness  is  designed  by  the  Father,  and  was  wrouglit  out  by  the 
Son;  which  may  be  said  of  a  worlc  of  grace  in  general,  and  be- 
longs to  faith  in  common  with  otlier  graces.  Faith  therefore 
has  a  further  office,  or  is  of  further  use  in  our  justication;  for  it 
is  as  the  eye  of  the  new  creature,  by  the  realizing  acts  of  which 
the  soul  takes  in  the  suitableness  and  worth  of  the  wedding 
garment,  which  appears  to  be  rather  a  rag,  or  a  cobweb,  than  a 
robe,  to  the  most  knowing  of  the  children  of  men,  till  faith  is 
wrouglit.  It  is  also  the  new  creature's  hand,  by  which  it  receives 
and  puts  on  this  garment  of  salvation,  so  perfumed  with  love, 
the  folds  of  which  are  so  full  of  grace  and  truth.  The  gift  of 
righteousness,  as  it  is  called,  Rom.  v.  17,  must  have  an  hand  to 
receive  it;  and  the  robe  of  righteousness,  which  is  the  name 
given  it,  Isa.  Ixi.  10,  must  be  put  on,  and  worn  before  God :  they 
who,  under  a  sense  of  sin,  are  summoned  by  the  court  of  con- 
science to  appear  before  God,  as  a  Judge,  must  have  something 
to  plead  with,  and  before  his  Majesty.  Now,  as  Christ's  right- 
eousness is  our  alone  eflectual  plea  for  pardon  and  acceptance, 
so  faith  is  as  the  lip  of  the  new  creature,  by  which  this  right- 
eousness is  with  all  humility  urged  and  pleaded  :  to  do  which  we 
are  encouraged  by  Scripture  declarations, calls,  and  commands, 
as  well  as  by  examples,  and  are  heard,  though  it  is  done  by  us, 
as  with  stammering,  as  well  as  with  trembling  lips.  Faith  is 
also  as  the  ear  of  the  new  creature,  by  which  the  awakened, 
quickened  soul  listens  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  calling  upon  the 
very  chief  of  sinners  to  forsake  their  sins,  and  all  refuges  of  lies, 
and  hiding  places  of  falsehood,  and  to  look  to  him  as  the  only 
finisher  of  sin,  and  fulfiller  of  righteousness,  for  all  righteous- 
ness to  bring  them  into,  and  to  continue  them  in  a  pardoned, 
justified,  reconciled,  adopted  state  for  ever.  It  is  also  as  the  knee 
of  the  new  creature,  by  which  it  bows  before  Christ,  as  the  Lord 
our  righteousness,  and  submits,  though  not  without  some  reluc- 
tance, especially  at  times,  to  this  way  of  a  sinner's  justification 
before  God.  It  is  also  as  the  tongue  of  the  new  creature,  which 
shouts,  Grace,  grace,  as  to  the  whole  of  our  salvation,  so  to  this 
branch  of  a  sinner's  justification,  and  sings  the  praises,  as  of  its 
provider,  so  of  him  that  brought  in  our  justifying  righteousness. 
It  is  also  as  the  foot  of  the  new  creature,  by  which  it  walks 
with,  and  follows  after  Christ,  as  the  Lord  its  righteousness;  and 
by  so  doing  adorns  the  gospel,  as  well  as  evidences  itself  to  be 
faith  unfeigned. 

So  that  the  office  of  faith  is  to  receive  from,  and  not  to  bring 
to  Christ,  unless  it  be  wants  and  weakness,  ill  and  hell  deserv- 
ings,  sins  without  number,  and  obligations  to  punisliments  with- 
out end.  Of  all  the  graces  of  the  Spirit,  faith  is  the  most  empty- 
ing, and  accordingly  goes  empty,  poor,  and  indigent  to  Christ. 
Other  graces  bring  something,  as  it  were,  along  with  them ; 


OF    JUSTIFICATION.  279 

wlifireas  faith  brings  nothing  to  Christ  but  a  naked  back.  As  in 
nature  the  hand  and  the  month  are  both  of  them  adapted  to  re- 
ceive, the  one  a  gift,  tlie  other  food ;  so  is  faith  adapted  to  look 
to, receive,  and  to  close  with  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  and,  having 
received  him,  to  reahze  all  those  Scripture  motives,  hy  which 
we  are  persuaded  to  abide  with  him, and  to  follow  him:  so  that 
faith  in  the  business  of  justification  before  God  is  not  to  be  con- 
sidered as  a  working,  but  as  a  receiving  grace,  though  it  is  both, 
and  sows  in  tears  of  godly  sorrow,  and  works  hy  love ;  but  its' 
first  and  great  business  is  with  the  person  and  righteousness  of 
Christ,  particularly  to  receive  the  atonement. 

To  conclude  this  head.  Faith  may  be  said  to  justify  us  in  a 
like  sense,  as  the  eye  is  said  to  be  the  light  of  the  body,  or  the 
hand  to  feed  and  clothe  us.  Thus  Esau  is  said  to  live  by  his 
bow,  by  which  he  got  what  he  lived  upon :  it  is  by  faith,  which 
is  "  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  and  the  evidence  of  things 
not  seen,"  that  we  realize  all  that  is  said  in  both  Testaments 
concerning  Christ  and  his  righteousness.  And  as  in  nature  the 
eye  directs  the  hand,  so  here  the  realizing  acts  of  faith  direct  its 
receiving  acts;  not  but  both  are  under  the  influences  of  the 
Spirit,  and  the  direction  of  the  word ;  by  which  faith  is  both 
taught  and  encouraged  to  go  to  God  in  Christ's  name,  as  the 
finisher  of  sin,  and  fulfiller  of  all  righteousness,  and  to  plead  iiis 
righteousness  to  all  those  blessed  ends  for  which  it  was  pro- 
vided by  the  Father,  wrought  out  by  the  Son,  and  is  revealed 
by  the  Spirit;  by  doing  which  heartily  and  constantly,  faith 
takes  in  the  comfort,  and  is  thereby  stirred  up  to  give  God  the 
glory  of  such  provision  of  righteousness.  It  is  also  made  care- 
ful to  adorn,  and  concerned  both  to  vindicate  and  to  propagate 
the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  in  Christ,  as  the  Lord  our 
righteousness. 

Having  thus  shown  tlie  use  of  faith  in  a  sinner's  justification 
before  God,  I  shall  next  answer  a  three-fold  inquiry. 

(1.)  One  inquiry  is,  whether  faith  is  only  a  manifestation  of 
what  was  actually  done  from  everlasting,  as  is  usually  pleaded 
by  those  who  are  for  actual  justification  from  everlasting.  That 
faith  of  the  operation  of  God  is  a  manifestation  of  the  following 
things,  is  readily  granted:  as  that  we  were  loved,  and  chosen, 
not  barely  with  Christ  as  an  elder  brother,  but  as  a  head  from 
everlasting,  and  given  to  and  made  his  charge  and  care  tc 
bring  us  safe  through  the  fall  to  glory:  that  in  him,  as  in  our 
head,  and  great  representative,  we  are  blessed  with  all  spiritua" 
blessings  in  heavenly  places:  that  he  actually  sustained  our 
persons,  and  represented  them  in  the  fulness  of  time;  and  that 
he  finished  our  sins,  and  brought  in  for  us  everlasting  righteous- 
ness :  that  for  us  he  rose  from  the  dead,  ascended  up  into  hea- 
ven, and  is  set  down  on  the  Father's  right  hand,  where  he  ever 
fives  to  make  intercession  for  us:  of  these  things,  faith  is  a  ma- 


280  OF    JUSTIFICATION. 

nifestation,  and  so  is  a  work  of  grace  in  general,  as  well  as  the 
grace  of  faith  in  particular;  for,  as  in  nature  the  eye  laid  to  the 
smallest  chink,  maj^,  through  that,  see  the  sun  shining  in  its  me- 
ridian strength,  so  in  the  case  before  us,  an  eye  of  faith  may,  by 
reflecting  on  itself,  or  on  any  other  of  the  graces  of  the  Spirit, 
though  they  spring  up  in  the  heart,  but  like  a  grain  of  mustard 
seed,  look  both  backwards  and  forwards;  backwards,  to  a  being 
chosen  in  Christ  from  everlasting;  and  forwards  to  a  living  and 
reigning  with  Christ  to  everlasting.  But  though  faith  is  a  mani- 
festation of  God's  eternal  purposes  taken  in  Christ,  and  his  cove- 
nant transactions  with  him ;  yet,  in  the  business  of  a  sinner's 
justification,  it  must  be  more  than  a  manifestation,  for  the  fol- 
lowing reasons : 

[1.]  Because  the  saints  are  said,  in  Scripture,  to  have  access 
hy  faith  into  the  grace  wherein  they  stand:  "Being  justified 
by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ;  by  whom  we  have  access  by  faith  into  the  grace 
wherein  we  stand,"  Rom.  v.  2,  that  is,  we  stand  actually  par- 
doned, and  actually  justified  before  God,  as  well  as  actually 
reconciled  with  God.  These  privileges,  with  all  others  of  a  like 
nature,  were  designed  for  the  elect  from  everlasting,  and  given 
them  in  Christ,  their  Head,  and  great  representative,  before  the 
world  began;  but  they  have  not,  according  to  the  Scriptures, 
access  to  them,  or  a  standing  in  them,  as  to  their  own  persons, 
such  as  is  actual  and  applicatory,  till  such  time  as  they  are  born 
again,  or  believe.  Thus  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  were  lighted 
and  hung  up  in  the  firmament,  long  before  any  of  us  were  born, 
or  had  a  bodily  eye ;  but  their  light  was  not  actually  let  in,  or 
brought  into  us,  no,  not  a  single  beam,  till  such  time  as  the  eye 
was  formed,  and  we  were  born  into  this  world ;  then,  and  not 
before,  were  we  filled  with  the  light  of  the  natural  sun,  and 
were  actually  possessed  of  its  rays  to  the  several  ends  and  uses 
for  which  they  are  given  us.  Thus  gifts,  how  freely  soever 
they  may  be  designed  for  us,  and  given  to  us,  are  not  ours 
before  we  receive  them:  there  must  be  the  receiving,  as  well  as 
the  giving  hand,  before  the  poor  are  actually  possessed  of  the 
rich  man's  alms.  Thus  it  is  in  the  affair  before  us:  Christ's 
righteousness  is  called  a  gift,  which  is  received  by  faith:  "  How 
much  more  shall  they,  who  receive  an  abundance  of  grace,  and 
of  the  gifts  of  righteousness,"  Rom  .v.  13,  which  sufficiently  in- 
timates, that  though  this  gift  of  righteousness  is  destined  for  us, 
yet  it  is  not  ours,  for  our  personal  and  actual  justification,  till 
we  believe.  It  is  not  a  pardon,  in  the  king's  design  and  pur- 
pose; nor  in  the  secretary's  office;  nor  in  the  messenger's  hand; 
no,  nor  in  the  malefactor's  pocket,  that  Avill  set  the  criminal 
free,  in  the  eye  of  the  law:  it  must  be  produced  and  pleaded  in 
open  court.  Now,  both  God's  courts  are  still  to  be  met  with 
m  the  holy  Scriptures;  in  the  law  is  that  of  Sinai,  and  in  the 


OF   JUSTIFICATION.  291 

gospel  is  that  of  Zioii:  faith  of  the  operation  of  God  appeals 
from  that  of  Sinai  to  that  of  Zion,  where  it  pleads  this  right- 
eousness; and  so  doing,  the  guilty,  self-condemned  sinner  is, 
according  to  the  rule  of  the  word,  really  and  actually  acquitted, 
and  declared  righteous,  with  equal  certainty,  though  not  with 
like  solemnity,  as  it  will  be  declared  in  the  last  and  great  day 
of  public  judgment;  and  may,  on  sure  Scripture  grounds,  take 
in  the  comfort,  and  give  God  the  glory  of  so  great  a  blessing, 
as  a  being  freed  from  hell,  and  entitled  to  heaven,  by  being 
made  the  righteousness  of  God,  in  a  way  of  union  with  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Federal  representation  and  vital  union,  a 
being  represented  by  Christ,  and  a  being  united  to  the  Lord, 
Jesus  Christ,  must  be  ditferent  things;  though  the  former  is  the 
foundation  or  ground-work  of  the  latter.  To  be  represented  by 
Christ,  belongs  to  the  whole  election  of  the  Father's  grace,  long 
before  they  are  either  born,  or  born  again;  but  united  to  Christ 
they  are  not,  till  they  are  born  again;  for  it  is  impossible  to  be 
united  to  such  a  living,  life-giving  head  as  Christ  is,  and  yet 
remain  dead  in  sins.  Dead  sinners  may  be  represented  by 
Christ,  and  are  so,  even  as  many  of  them  as  belong  to  the 
election  of  the  Father's  grace ;  but  not  a  soul  that  is  united  to 
Christ  can  remain  dead  in  sins:  "To  whom  coming,  as  to  a 
living  stone;  ye  also,  as  lively  stones,  are  built  up  a  spiritual 
house,"  1  Pet.  ii.  4, 

To  have  access  into  the  grace  of  justification,  and  a  standing 
therein,  must  be  more  than  a  manifestation:  as  the  prodigal's 
being  clothed  with  the  best  robe,  and  entering  into  his  father's 
house,  and  sitting  down  at  his  father's  table,  was  more  than 
his  seeing  these  things  far  off,  and  at  a  distance.  This  is  one 
reason  why  faith,  in  the  business  of  justification,  must  be  more 
than  a  bare  manifestation,  which  is  wholly  scriptural;  and  so  is 
that  which  follows. 

[2.]  The  double  simile  which  the  Spirit  of  God  makes  use 
of,  in  speaking  of  faith's  use  and  office  in  this  weighty  atfair, 
discovers  it  to  be  more  than  a  manifestation:  he  compares  it  to 
a  hand,  as  well  as  to  an  eye.  How  often  are  its  receiving  acts, 
as  well  as  those  that  are  realizing,  mentioned  in  Scripture! 
"  But  as  many  as  received  him,  to  them  gave  he  power  to  be- 
come the  sons  of  God;  even  to  them  that  believe  on  his  name," 
John  i.  12.  "  Much  more  shall  they,  who  receive  an  abun- 
dance of  grace,  and  of  the  gift  of  righteousness,  reign  in  life  by 
one  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  we  have  received  the  atonement," 
Rom.  V.  11.  All  which  are  Scripture  phrases,  as  well  as  those 
by  which  the  realizing  acts  of  faith  are  held  forth.  Now,  was 
faith  only  a  manifestation,  why  should  it  be  compared  to  a  hand, 
as  well  as  to  an  eye? 

[3.]  Faith  in  the  business  of  justification,  must  be  more  than 
a  manifestation,  because  were  it  no  other,  other  graces  would 

36 


282  OF   JUSTIFICATION. 

share  with  faith,  in  its  use  and  office,  as  it  respects  onr  justifi- 
cation; for  they  all  speak  by  way  of  manifestation,  and  evi- 
dence our  being  loved,  and  chosen  in  Christ  from  everlasting; 
"  Knowing,  brethren  beloved,  your  election  of  God :  for  our 
gospel  came  not  unto  you  in  word  only,  but  also  in  power,"  &c. 
1  Thess.-  i,  4,  5.  So  that  we  might,  with  equal  propriety  of 
language,  be  said  to  be  justified  by  repentance,  or  by  love,  or 
by  humility,  as  by  faith;  which  we  are  no  where  sa'id  to  be  in 
Scripture;  such  expressions  would  be  unscriptural  and  unwar- 
rantable: they  would  grate  upon  the  ear,  and  grieve  the  heart 
of  a  true  believer. 

[4.]  Faith,  in  the  business  of  justification,  is  more  than  a 
manifestation,  because  were  it  no  more,  it  would  unavoidably 
follow,  that  one  believer  might  be  more  justified,  in  the  Scrip- 
ture sense  and  acceptation  of  that  word,  than  another,  as  his 
manifestation  thereof  may  be  clearer  and  fuller;  and  the  same 
person  more  justified  at  one  time,  than  at  another,  as  his  mani- 
festation or  apprehension  thereof  lessens  or  increases;  of  which 
we  have  not  the  least  intimation  in  Scripture,  but  of  the  con- 
trary. A  believer's  comfort  may  ebb  and  flow,  but,  in  point 
of  justification,  his  state  is  the  same. 

To  conclude  this  first  head  of  inquiry:  Did  the  gospel  phrase 
and  notion  of  justification  by  faith,  include  no  more  than  a 
manifestation  to  our  sense  and  apprehension,  it  would  also 
follow,  that  they  who  walk  in  darkness,  and  have  lost  the  sight 
and  sense  of  their  being  justified,  which  is  the  case  of  many  a 
soul  that  is  truly  gracious,  would,  in  the  sense  of  the  gospel,  be 
no  longer  in  a  justified  state,  but  be  fallen  from  the  grace  of 
justification:  a  believer  in  the  dark,  would  be  no  more  justified, 
than  he  was  whilst  shut  up  in  unbelief;  all  which  is  unscriptu- 
ral, and  smells  rank  of  the  Arminians,  who  hold  a  falling  from 
grace. 

(2.)  I  shall  come  to  a  second  inquiry,  Whether  the  believer 
may,  in  any  sense,  be  said  to  be  justified  before  faith.  To  which 
I  would  answer.  Not  actually,  but  virtually;  in  Christ,  but  not 
together  with  Christ;  in  designation  and  purchase,  but  not  in 
application  and  fact.  Christ's  righteousness  is  designed  and 
wrought  out  for  him,  but  is  not  to  nor  npon  him,  in  the  sense 
of  the  gospel,  before  he  believes:  he  is  a  son  elect,  but  no 
more;  "As  many  as  received  him,  to  them  gave  he  power  to 
become  the  sons  of  God,  even  to  them  who  believed  on  his 
name,"  John  i.  12;  this  is  a  full  proof  they  were  not  before 
what  they  then  became,  or  began  to  be.  That  God  purposed, 
from  everlasting,  thus  to  privilege  and  bless  his  people  in  time, 
is  not  questioned;  nor  that  all  the  elect  were  virtually  justified, 
when  Christ,  their  great  head  and  representative,  was  so  actu- 
ally. But  as  the  Scripture  carefully  distinguishes  between  a 
being  blessed  in  Christ,  and  a  being  blessed  together  with 


OF   JUSTIFICATION.  293 

Christ,  so  should  wc;  "  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  lias  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  bless- 
ings in  heavenly  places  in  Christ,"  Eph.  i.  3;  which  all  must 
take  in  the  blessings  of  glory,  as  well  as  those  of  grace:  but 
though  now  we  are  glorified  in  Christ,  we,  who  believe,  hope 
one  day  to  be  glorified  together  with  Christ;  "When  Christ, 
who  is  our  life,  shall  appear,  we  shall  appear  with  him  in 
glory,"  Col.  iii.  4.  We  readily  own,  that  God  had  in  purpose, 
from  everlasting,  all  the  glory  and  blessedness  to  which  he  will 
bring  his  people  to  everlasting;  but  to  say,  that  the  elect  were, 
from  everlasting,  actually  possessed  of  any  one  of  them,  actu- 
ally pardoned,  or  actually  justified,  is  to  make  them,  or  at  least 
to  speak  of  them,  as  if  they  were  co-eternal  beings  with  the 
eternal  God. 

How  expressly  are  we  told,  in  Scripture,  that,  in  point  of 
actual  existence,  "that  is  not  first  which  is  spiritual,  but  that 
which  is  natural ;  and  afterwards  that  which  is  spiritual !" 
1  Cor.  XV.  46.  And  if  so,  the  elect  not  only  actually  exist,  but 
are  actually  condemned,  by  the  law  of  God,  before  they  are 
actually  justified.  As  the  imputation  of  Christ's  righteousness 
presupposes  the  being  of  Him,  who  imputes,  and  his  actually 
sustaining  the  character,  both  of  a  Judge  and  of  a  Saviour;  so 
it  presupposes  the  existence  of  the  creature,  and  that  he  is  a 
sinner  to  whom  Christ's  righteousness  is  imputed.  As  all  the 
existence  men  or  angels  have  before  time,  is  in  purpose,  so  all 
the  imputation  that  is  from  everlasting,  must  be  in  purpose  also. 
To  talk  of  God's  actually  imputing  a  thing  of  that  worth,  as  is 
Christ's  righteousness,  to  nothing,  or  to  that  which  has  as  yet 
no  actual  being,  that  he  should  actually  impute  righteousness 
to  a  non  ens,  or  to  one  who  as  yet  is  not,  is  to  talk  not  only 
unscripturally,  but  unintelligibly. 

Though  God  designed,  from  everlasting,  to  give  us  an  actual 
being,  yet  we  did  not  actually  exist,  but  in  time:  thus  it  is  in 
the  case  before  us;  though  God  actually  purposed,  and  that  from 
everlasting,  to  justify  the  whole  election  of  his  grace,  yet  they 
are  not  actually  justified,  but  in  time.  Christ's  righteousness 
was  both  designed  and  wrought  out  for  us,  whilst  lying  in  the 
womb  of  God's  decrees,  but  is  not  upon  us  till  we  believe. 

Not  only  designation  and  possession  are  different  things,  the 
one  being  a  step  to  the  other,  but  so  are  right  and  possession, 
quite  round  the  globe.  An  estate  may  be  designed  for  a  first- 
born, whilst  in  the  womb,  and  be  bought  for,  and  settled  on  him 
as  soon  as  born;  so  firmly  settled,  as  to  leave  no  room  for  its 
being  alienated,  and  yet  the  heir  not  be  in  actual  possession 
thereof.  Actual  possession,  be  it  of  a  crown,  takes  place  accord- 
ing to  the  constitution  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  methods  of  gov- 
ernment, which,  in  all  wise  administrations,  are  settled,  and  not 
left  uncertain  and  precarious.    Now  is  the  order  of  civil  govern- 


284  OF   JUSTIFICATION. 

ments  great,  and  that  of  God's  government  of  the  world  of 
nature  yet  greater;  and  is  there  no  such  thing  as  order  in  the 
gospel?  Is  tliat  without  beauty  and  method,  which  is  the  glory 
of  all  kingdoms?  There,  and  no  where  else,  must  we  look  for 
the  methods  of  wisdom,  and  the  order  of  God,  as  they  relate  to 
the  application  of  salvation.  This  proclaims,  as  on  the  house 
top,  that  though  Christ's  righteousness  was  wrought  out  for  us, 
long  before  we  believe,  it  is  not  upon  us  till  we  believe,  Paul 
was  a  chosen  vessel  before  he  believed;  but  where  is  he  said 
to  have  been  pardoned,  or  justified,  or  reconciled,  or  adopted, 
whilst  lying  out  from  and  persecuting  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ? 

As  the  whole  of  our  salvation  by  Christ,  so  this  of  a  sinner's 
justification  before  God,  is  represented  in  Scripture,  and  should 
be  considered  by  us,  under  different  views;  it  is  to  be  considered 
as  it  lies  in  the  gracious  design  and  purpose  of  God,  whose  pur- 
poses, without  his  power,  bring  nothing  into  being;  for,  if  they 
did,  this  world,  with  all  the  things  of  time,  must  have  existed 
from  everlasting;  to  assert  which,  would  include  the  greatest  of 
absurdities.  It  must  be  considered,  as  it  lies  in  the  covenant 
transactions  between  the  Father  and  the  Son,  who  was  set  up 
from  everlasting,  as  the  head  and  surety  of  a  better  covenant. 
It  must  be  considered,  as  it  lies  in  the  purchase  of  Christ,  who, 
in  the  fulness  of  time,  "  finished  transgression,  made  an  end  of 
sin,  and  reconciliation  for  iniquity,  and  brought  in  everlasting 
righteousness,"  Dan,  ix,  24.  It  must  be  considered,  as  it  lies 
in  the  gospel,  where  Christ's  righteousness  is  revealed,  in  the 
suitableness  and  glory  thereof,  and  is  expressly  said  to  be  to 
all  and  upon  all  such  as  believe,  without  difference,  where  it 
is  brought  near  to  sinners  in  the  offer,  A  sinner's  justification 
may  and  should  be  considered,  as  it  is  the  birth  of  time,  and 
so  personal  and  actual,  in  the  joyful  and  blessed  application 
thereof. 

Now,  as  salvation,  in  the  designation  thereof,  is  not  to  be 
blended  with  salvation  in  the  impetration,  nor  with  salvation 
in  the  application  thereof,  so  neither  is  justification;  but  a  real 
scriptural  difference  should  carefully  be  kept  up  by  us.  The 
distinction  of  virtual  and  actual,  has  its  use  and  place  in  Scrip- 
ture, as  well  as  in  nature:  in  nature  the  case  is  plain;  for  the 
earth  virtually  contains  all  the  fruit  that  will  be  brought  forth 
and  ripened,  not  only  the  next  summer,  but  an  hundred  years 
hence;  whence  it  follows  not,  that  trees  are  now  full  of  ripe 
fruit.  The  sea  also  virtually  contains  all  fountains  and  rivers 
that  can  possibly  flow  from  it,  even  as  eternity  contains  all  pos- 
sible time.  And  no  less  plain  is  the  case  as  to  Scripture,  where 
Christ  is  said  to  be  a  Lamb  .slain  from  the  fuunddtion  of  the 
world,  which  cannot  be  understood  of  his  being  actually  cruci- 
fied before  he  was  born;  but  the  slaying  there  mentioned,  nnist 
be  virtual,  and  not  actual.     It  is  one  thing  for  Christ's  right- 


OF   JUSTIFICATION.  285 

eousness  to  be  wrought  out,  and  laid  up,  as  it  were,  for  us;  and 
a  different  thing  to  have  this  righteousness  upon  us,  in  the  sense 
of  the  gospel.  The  coronation  robes  of  a  king,  and  the  wed- 
ding garments  of  a  bride  or  a  bridegroom,  are,  or  at  least  may  be, 
made  and  finished  long  before  they  are  put  on  and  worn.  Our 
wedding  robe  of  justifying  righteousness  is  with  Christ  our 
head  as  a  garment  completely  finished,  with  whom  it  is  safe 
and  most  secure;  but  it  is  far  above  and  out  of  the  sinner's 
sight  and  reach,  till  such  time  as  it  is  given  him,  for  this  right- 
eousness's  sake,  to  believe;  for  faith,  with  all  the  graces  of  the 
Spirit,  as  well  as  glory,  is  the  purchase  of  this  righteousness; 
which,  being  seated  in  the  heart,  brings  the  soul  off  from  all  its 
refuges  of  lies,  and  hiding  places  of  falsehood,  to  take  shelter 
under  the  shadow  of  Christ's  wing,  as  he  is  "  the  end  of  the 
law  for  righteousness  to  every  one  that  believes."  Thus,  "  With 
the  heart  man  believes  to  righteousness,"  Rom.  x.  10,  and  is 
no  longer  among  those  whom  the  word  of  God  condemns,  but 
justifies,  and  is  so  declared  to  be,  by  the  united  voice  of  both 
Testaments. 

God  himself  distinguishes  between  his  own  counsels,  and  the 
execution  of  them;  "  My  counsel  shall  stand,  and  1  will  do  all  my 
pleasure,"  Isa.  xlvi.  10,  which  we  have  in  other  words;  "The 
Lord  of  hosts  has  sworn,  saying,  Surely  as  I  have  thought,  so 
shall  it  come  to  pass;  and  as  I  have  purposed,  so  shall  it  stand," 
Isa,  xiv.  24.  Who  is  said  to  work  all  things  after  the  counsel 
of  his  own  will;  "  In  whom  we  also  have  obtained  an  inherit- 
ance, being  predestinated  according  to  the  purpose  of  him  who 
works  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will,"  Eph.  i.  11. 
God's  counsels,  as  they  lie  in  the  divine  mind  and  will,  without 
the  intervention  of  his  power,  bring  nothing  into  being,  as  has 
been  observed.  In  these  counsels  Christ  himself  lay,  as  man 
and  Mediator,  and  was  considered  by  God  as  the  finisher  of  sin, 
and  as  the  fuifiller  of  all  righteousness;  but  this  gave  not  an 
actual  existence  to  the  incarnation,  death,  or  sufferings  of  Christ, 
before  the  fulness  of  time. 

All  the  purposes  of  God,  as  they  are  in  him,  are  immanent 
acts ;  his  whole  counsel  is  so,  as  it  takes  in  his  works  of  nature, 
grace,  and  glory.  Now,  if  this,  with  the  intervention  of  his 
power,  gives  actual  being  to  any  thing,  to  our  justification,  for 
instance,  by  a  parity  of  reason,  it  should  give  actual  being  to 
everything;  to  this  world,  and  to  all  that  is  therein;  to  the 
church  militant,  and  to  the  church  triumphant.  Things  of  time 
are  otherwise  considered  by  God,  when  actually  existing,  than 
they  were  by  him,  before  his  power  had  brought  them  into 
being:  before  they  had  a  being  they  were  considered  by  him  as 
things  to  be;  but  when  actually  existing,  as  things  that  are; 
and  yet,  by  reason  of  certainty,  as  to  the  execution  of  his  de- 
crees, he  calls  things  which  are  not,  as  though  they  were.   Pos- 


286  OF    JUSTIFICATION. 

sibles  are  considered  by  him  as  they  He  in  his  almiglity  power , 
things  future, as  they  he  in  his  sovereign  will  and  pleasure;  and 
things  actually  existing,  as  put  forth  and  brought  into  being  by 
him. 

To  conclude  this  head.  We  cannot  be  justified  in  the  sense 
of  the  gospel  before  faith,  because  the  word  of  God  is  express 
that  ive  are  justified  by  faith.  Christ's  righteousness  is  not 
upon  us,  in  the  sense  of  the  gospel, before  faith;  for  the  gospel 
is  express,  that  it  is  to  and  upon  us,  in  a  way  of  believing ;  and 
should  men  or  angels  tell  us  the  contrary,  we  are  not  to  regard 
them. 

(3.)  I  shall  add  a  word  to  the  third  and  last  inquiry.  How  is 
it  thsit  elect  infants^  di/ing  in  their  iyifanci/,  are  justified?  I 
answer,  By  faith  in  the  habit,  though  not  by  faith  in  the  act. 
Faith  of  the  operation  of  God  is  not  confined  to  years;  an  elect 
infant  is  as  capable  a  subject  thereof  as  grown  persons.  As  all 
are  born  shut  up  in  unbelief,  so  omnipotent  grace  can  open 
those  prison  doors  when  and  how  it  pleases.  In  the  short 
account  which  we  have  of  salvation,  in  the  application  thereof, 
as  it  respects  the  whole  election  of  the  Father's  grace,  they  are 
said  to  be  first  called,  and  so  justified,  and  then  glorified; 
"Whom  he  did  predestinate,  them  he  also  called;  and  whom 
he  called,  them  he  also  justified;  and  whom  he  justified,  them 
he  also  glorified,"  Rom.  viii.  30.  Now,  an  elect  infant  is  as 
capable  of  this  as  a  grown  person;  of  being  effectually  called, 
or  renewed  by  grace;  of  being  freely  justified,  and  for  ever 
glorified. 

All  the  application  I  would  make,  shall  be  adding  two  words, 
by  way  of  inquiry.  Where  is  it  that  you  have  lodged  your 
guilty  souls?  and  what  is  it  that  you  have  done  with  your  many 
sins? 

1.  Where  have  you  lodged  your  guilty  souls?  Hiding  places 
of  falsehood  are  many;  these  are  crowded;  sinners  flock  to  them 
by  thousands.  God's  hiding  place  is  but  one,  but  one  under  both 
Testaments ;  where  Abraham  took  shelter,  who  saw  Christ's 
day,  as  the  only  sacrifice  for  sin ;  and  Moses,  whose  dispensa- 
tion was  full  of  him;  and  David,  with  all  the  prophets,  who  wrote 
of  him ;  there  did  the  apostle  Paul  also  shelter  himself.  Old  and 
New  Testament  saints  sought  righteousness  to  justification  and. 
life,  only  in  the  Lord;  "  Surely  shall  one  say,  In  the  Lord  have 
I  righteousness  and  strength:  in  the  Lord  shall  all  the  seed  of 
Israel  be  justified,  and  shall  glory.  Christ's  wing,  as  the  finisher 
of  sin  and  the  fulfiUer  of  all  righteousness,  which  spreads  itself 
throughout  the  whole  book  of  God,  is  the  one  and  only  shelter 
for  guilty  sinners.  Had  a  stung  Israelite,  instead  of  looking  out 
to  the  brazen  serpent,  gone  to  prayer,  would  he  have  been 
cured?  No,  surely.  Now,  did  God  put  such  honour  upon  his 
own  ordinance,  under  the  Old  Testament,  and  will  he  not  put 


OF   JUSTIFICATION.  287 

as  great  honour  upon  liis  Son,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  under  the 
New,  who  is  his  salvation  to  the  end  of  time,  as  well  as  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth?  Cornelius  bade  as  fair  for  salvation,  out  of 
Christ,  as  any  man  living;  for  the  angel  told  him  that  "his 
prayer  was  heard,  and  his  alms  had  in  remembrance  in  the 
sight  of  God;"  and  yet  he  also  told  him,  that  Peter  was  to  in- 
form him  how  he  and  his  house  should  be  saved;  "Who  shall 
tell  thee  words,  whereby  thou  and  all  thy  house  shall  be  saved," 
Acts  xi.  14,  which  is  a  plain  case,  and  a  full  proof,  that  out  of 
Christ  there  is  no  salvation.  Cornelius's  case  is  so  far  from  de- 
preciating Christ  and  his  gospel,  that  both  are  thereby  exalted; 
and  thus  the  light  and  law  of  nature  cannot  supply  the  want  of 
Christ.  Were  there  such  a  man  as  Cornelius  now  alive,  an  an- 
gel, or  some  one  acquainted  with  the  gospel,  would  be  sent  to 
preach  Christ  to  him,  though  he  lived  in  the  furthest  and  dark- 
est corner  of  the  earth. 

2.  What  have  you  done  with  your  many  sins?  The  only  care 
of  some  is,  to  extenuate  their  sins,  and  of  others  to  forget  them; 
but  all  who  have  faith  unfeigned,  wash  in  that  fountain,  which 
God  has  opened  for  sin  and  for  uncleanness:  all  other  lavers  are 
so  far  from  cleansing,  that  they  pollute  and  defile  the  soul;  it  is 
the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  GoWs  own  and  only  begotten  Son, 
tfiat  cleanses  from  all  sin,  I  John  i.  7,  the  conscience  from  the 
guilt,  and  the  heart  from  the  love,  and  the  life  from  the  rule  and 
dominion  of  sin. 

But  you  will  say,  it  may  be,  that  you  would  gladly  thus  take 
shelter  under  the  wing  of  Christ,  and  thus  wash  in  the  blood 
of  Christ;  but  you  fear  your  faith  is  forced  and  feigned.  To 
which  I  answer;  how  is  it  that  your  faith  sows;  and  how  is  it 
that  it  works?  Does  it  sow  in  tears  of  godly  sorrow  for  sin; 
and  does  it  work  by  love?  If  it  does  both  these,  you  may  rest 
assured  it  is  faith  of  the  right  kind,  and  that  you  shall  reap 
in  joy. 

To  conclude :  with  all  your  gettings,  your  first  and  chief  care 
should  be  to  get  faith,  which  has  so  many  precious  promises 
made  to  it;  not  only  of  salvation  and  eternal  life,  in  the  general, 
but  of  forgiveness  of  sin,  of  justification,  of  reconciliation,  of 
adoption,  and  of  sanctification  in  particular;  to  work  which  the 
Spirit  is  promised, and  the  Scriptures  are  written;  to  give  which 
Christ  is  exalted,  and  a  throne  of  grace  is  erected.  Remember, 
faith  conies  by  hearing,  not  the  sayings  of  a  Plato,  or  of  a 
Seneca,  but  the  word  of  God,  as  it  is  contained  in  the  Bible; 
which  is  a  book  so  prefaced,  as  no  other  book  is,  and  so  attested: 
for  the  Old  Testament  is  prefaced  by  Israel's  deliverance  out  of 
Egypt,  and  by  all  the  miracles  wrought  by  the  hand  of  Moses, 
in  bringing  it  about,  which  was  effected  before  the  five  books 
of  Moses  were  written ;  and  the  New  Testament,  by  all  the  mi- 
racles wrought  by  Christ:  who  was  born,  crucified,  raised  from 


288  OF   JUSTIFICATION 

the  dead,  and  ascended  up  into  heaven,  before  any  of  that  was 
written :  and  as  it  is  a  book  so  prefaced  as  a  book  never  was,  so 
never  was  book  so  well  attested  as  the  Bible  is ;  not  only  by  a 
cloud  of  witnesses,  or  by  the  experience  of  all  the  saints,  both 
dead  and  alive,  who  have  found,  and  still  find,  in  numberless  in- 
stances, these  things  to  be  facts  and  truths,  which  are  there- 
in related ;  or  by  miracles  of  all  sorts,  and  by  a  cloud  of  mar- 
tyrs, who,  by  thousands,  have  sealed  with  their  blood  what  they 
knew  of  its  being  the  book  of  God,  or  of  the  truths  contained 
therein  ;  but  it  is  gloriously  attested,  by  being  undeniably  writ- 
ten on  the  palms  of  God's  hands  in  his  providential  dispensa- 
tions; who,  to  go  no  higher,  in  the  rise,  succession,  riches,  and 
duration  of  the  four  universal  monarchies,  has  been  fulfilling 
Scripture  prophecy;  and  so  he  has  in  the  rejection  and  present 
state  of  the  Jews,  who  many  days  have  been  without  a  king,  a 
sacrifice,  and  an  idol,  according  to  Scripture  prophecy.  How  ex- 
actly is  the  New  Testament  a  fulfilling  of  the  Old;  and  not  only 
the  present  state  of  Europe,  as  to  its  divisions  into  ten  king- 
doms; the  kings  of  which  have,  according  to  Scripture  prophecy, 
given  away  their  power  to  the  beast;  but  the  present  state  of 
all  the  world  is  visibly  a  fulfilling  of  Scripture  prophecy!  Are 
not  the  Jews,  at  this  day,  the  scattered  and  the  despised  people 
the  Scriptures  say  they  should  be?  Is  not  Antichrist  the  long- 
lived  man  of  sin,  and  the  cruel  man  of  blood,  the  Scriptures  say 
he  should  be?  Are  not  the  pagan  parts  of  the  world  the  dark 
places,  and  the  habitations  of  cruelty,  the  Scripture  says  they 
should  be  ?  Do  not  the  seven  Asiatic  churches  he  desolate,  as 
they  were  threatened  by  Christ,  unless  they  repented  ?  Is  not 
Mahomet  the  false  prophet  the  Scriptures  say  he  should  be? 
and  are  not  his  followers  many,  like  the  waters  of  a  great  river, 
the  river  Euphrates,  to  which  they  are  compared  in  Scripture  ? 
Does  not  the  whole  world  lie  in  wickedness,  as  the  Scriptures 
say  it  does  ?  And  is  not  every  saint  as  a  brand  plucked  out  of 
the  burning,  as  the  Scriptures  say  they  are  ?  Are  not  the  deists 
the  scofiers,  walking  after  their  own  lusts,  and  ridiculing  the 
promise  of  Christ's  coming,  as  the  Scriptures  say  they  should? 
Are  not  the  black  marks  of  those  perilous  times,  the  last  days, 
upon  us  ?  Are  not  the  foolish  virgins  as  many,  nay  more,  than 
the  wise?  And  are  not  all  slumbering  and  sleeping,  as  the  Scrip- 
tures say  they  would  be? — Let  us  therefore  prize  the  book  of 
God,  as  a  king  does  his  crown,  and  hold  it  fast  as  a  king  does 
his  sceptre :  let  us  lay  it  up  in  the  cabinet  of  the  heart,  and  ex- 
press it  throughout  the  whole  of  our  lives:  let  us  view  Christ 
and  ourselves,  his  wisdom  and  our  own  folly;  his  righteousness, 
and  our  own  guilt;  his  riches,  and  our  own  poverty;  his  fulness, 
and  our  own  emptiness;  his  strength,  and  our  own  weakness, 
in  the  light  thereof;  in  this  the  finite  worth  of  Christ,  and  the 
true  value  of  grace,  and  use  of  faith,  and  of  every  thing  else,  is 


OF   JUSTIFICATION.  289 

faithfully  set  down;  according  to  which,  "All  who  believe  are 
justified,  from  ail  things  from  which  there  was  no  being  justi- 
fied by  the  law  of  Moses,"  Acts  xiii.  39. 


SERMON  IV. 

Galatians  ii.  16. — Knowing  that  a  man  is  not  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law, 
but  by  the  faith  of  Jesus  Clirist ;  even  we  have  believed  in  Jesus  Christ,  that 
we  might  be  justified  by  the  faith  of  Clirist,  and  not  by  the  works  of  the  law; 
for  by  the  works  of  the  law  sliall  no  flesh  be  justified. 

By  far  the  greatest  of  all  sublunary  transactions,  with  an  eye 
to  which  the  foundations  of  the  first  Adam's  world  were  laid, 
was,  as  we  learn  from  Scripture,  the  appearing  of  Christ,  the 
second  Adam,  to  take  away  sin.  His  incarnation  is  spoken  of 
in  both  Testaments,  as  the  foundation  and  chief  corner-stone  of 
God's  world  of  nature,  as  well  as  of  his  kingdom  of  grace  and 
glory.  In  the  Old  Testament,  "  I  have  put  my  words  in  thy 
mouth,  and  covered  thee  in  the  shadow  of  my  hand,"  said  God 
to  the  Mediator,  "  that  I  may  plant  the  heavens,  and  lay  the 
foundations  of  the  earth;  and  say  to  Zion,  Thou  art  my  peo- 
ple," Isa.  li.  16;  that  is,  do  it  with  the  greatest  certainty,  so  as 
to  receive  from  all  a  full  revenue  of  glory.  In  the  New  Testa- 
ment we  are  told,  that  "  all  things  were  created  by  Christ,  and 
that  by  him  all  things  consist,"  Col.  i.  16,  17. 

As  man  was  created  the  mouth  of  this  lower  creation,  in 
point  of  praise,  and  in  point  of  service  as  the  hand  thereof;  for 
what  would  this  world  have  signified,  had  no  man  been  formed 
to  adore,  and  serve  him  that  made  it?  so  our  Immanuel  is  as 
the  hand  in  point  of  service;  therefore  he  is  called  the  man  of 
'  God's  right  hand,  Psal.  Ixxx.  17,  and  in  point  of  praise  he  is 
as  the  mouth  of  the  whole  universe.  By  him  God  receives, 
and  will  receive  for  ever,  such  a  revenue  of  glory,  as  could  no 
other  way  have  been  paid  to  him.  Mere  creatures,  whether 
they  are  men  or  angels,  being  mutable  by  nature,  may  praise 
God,  and  serve  him  one  day,  and  be  struck  dumb  to  praise, 
and  grow  lame  to  his  service  the  next,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
non-elect  angels,  and  of  our  first  parents;  whereas  our  Imma- 
nuel is  "the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever;"  and,  as 
such,  is  a  fit  basis  to  support  the  whole  universe.  Is  it  beneath 
the  wisdom  of  a  king  to  order  his  palace  to  be  built  on  a  quick 
sand,  or  his  crown  and  sceptre  to  be  made  of  glass?  and  will 
God  entrust  reeds  and  rushes,  that  is,  mere  creatures,  with  the 
manifestation  of  his  glory?  Firm  and  strong  as  the  pillars  of 
heaven,  and  of  this  earth  may  be,  they  owe  all  their  stability 
and  strength  to  Christ,  and  so  do  elect  men  and  angels  theirs, 

37 


290  OF    JUSTIFICATION. 

in  answering  the  ends,  the  one  of  their  creation,  the  other  of 
their  redemption ;  to  the  same  Jesus,  who  is  said,  "  to  bear  up 
the  pillars  of  the  earth,"  Psal.  Ixxv.  3,  and  "  to  uphold  all 
things  by  the  word  of  his  power,"  Heb.  i.  3,  which  includes 
heaven  as  well  as  earth;  and  is  called,  by  God,  "  his  righteous 
servant,  in  whom  he  will  be  glorified,"  Isa.  xlix.  3.  That 
Christ  should  be  able,  in  the  short  space  of  thirty  odd  years,  to 
finish  transgression,  and  to  make  an  end  of  sin,  and  reconciUa- 
tion  for  iniquity,  and  to  bring  in  everlasting  righteousness,  is  a 
like  wonder,  with  God's  creating  such  a  world  as  this  is,  in  the 
space  of  six  days.  How  will  it  astonish  and  delight  us,  when 
we  come  to  glor}'',  to  think,  that  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth 
should  be  the  Lord  our  righteousness!  that  he,  who  there  sits 
on  the  Father's  throne,  should,  to  bring  about  our  justification 
and  salvation,  consent  to  hang  in  this  lower  world  on  a  tree ! 
Between  his  righteousness  being  upon  us  for  our  actual  jus- 
tification, and  faith  of  the  operation  of  God,  there  is,  for  the 
comfort  of  all  who  believe,  a  close  connexion,  which  is  my  next 
head  of  discourse. 

5.  I  shall  evince  the  siu^e  connexion  there  is  between  faith 
and  actual  justification. 

There  is  an  eternal  connexion  in  God's  purposes  and  decrees, 
who  has  said,  "  My  counsel  shall  stand,  and  I  will  do  all  my 
pleasure."  Men  and  devils  may  sooner  invert  the  beautiful 
order  of  nature,  and  extinguish  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  than  dis- 
annul what  the  purpose  of  God  has  thus  connected:  there  is 
also  an  eternal  connexion  by  way  of  covenant,  it  being  thus 
agreed  in  the  counsel  of  peace  between  the  Father  and  the 
Son:  there  is  also  a  purchased  connexion,  obtained  and  sealed, 
as  it  were,  by  the  blood  of  Christ:  there  is  an  openly  declared 
connexion,  published  in  the  book  of  God,  and  by  the  mhiisters 
of  the  gospel,  to  all  the  world:  there  is  a  promised  connexion 
confirmed  by  oath;  for  the  oath  of  God,  as  it  is  recorded  in 
his  word,  reaches  and  confirms  every  truth  contained  therein, 
whereby  all  gospel  immunities,  privileges,  and  blessings,  are 
abundantly  secured  to  such  as  believe.  It  is  also  an  experi- 
enced connexion;  all,  in  all  ages  and  places,  that  ever  believed, 
whether  saints  of  the  Old,  or  of  the  New  Testament,  have, 
without  one  exception,  been  justified;  and  so  are  all  who  now 
believe  justified,  let  their  lot  be  cast  where  it  will;  babes,  as 
well  as  fathers  in  Christ;  and  so  shall  all  who,  in  after  ages,  to 
the  very  end  of  time,  shall  be  brought  to  believe;  for  that  great 
text  looks  forward  as  well  as  backward:  "By  him  all  who 
believe  are  justified,  from  all  things,"  Acts  iii.  39.  Should  such 
of  us  as  believe,  be  declared  justified,  by  an  audible  voice  from 
heaven,  or  by  an  angel  sent  from  thence,  it  would  not  be  so  sat- 
isfying, nor  so  establishing,  as  the  united  testimony  of  Moses, 
and  of  all  the  prophets;  of  Christ,  and  of  all  his  apostles,  as  it 


OF   JUSTIFICATION.  291 

Stands  recorded  in  both  Testaments.  We  may  safely  say,  that 
the  earth  may  sooner  sink  mider  our  feet,  and  the  heavens  over 
cm'  heads  vanish,  than  a  true  behever  be  condemned;  which 
connexion  is  thus  settled  and  secured,  that  we  might  have  strong 
consolation,  who  have  fled  for  refuge,  to  lay  hold  on  the  hope 
set  before  us  in  the  gospel.  This  connexion  I  take  to  be  part 
of  "the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus,"  which  makes 
every  true  believer  "free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death,"  Rom. 
viii.  2. 

6.  My  next  province  is  to  assign  to  good  loorks  their  proper 
use  in  this  weighty  affair,  according  to  the  Scriptures,  which 
are  most  express,  in  excluding  the  best  works  performed  by  the 
best  of  saints,  from  being  either  in  whole,  or  in  part,  our  justify- 
ing righteousness  before  God.  Thus  Abraham's  works,  though 
very  excellent  in  themselves,  are  carefully  excluded;  "What 
shall  we  say  then,  that  Abraham  our  father,  as  pertaining  to 
the  flesh,  has  found?  for  if  Abraham  was  justified  by  works, 
he  has  whereof  to  glory;  but  he  was  not  so  justified  before 
God,"  Rom,  iv.  2.  That  this  is  the  sense  and  meaning  of  this 
verse,  is  plain  from  the  next;  "For  what  says  the  Scripture, 
Abraham  believed  God,  and  it  was  counted  to  him  for  right- 
eousness," verse  3.  His  readiness  to  offer  his  son,  by  way  of 
sacrifice,  at  God's  command,  was  a  high  instance  of  oljedience; 
but  this  was  not  counted  to  him  for  righteousness,  as  to  be  sure 
it  would  have  been,  and  set  as  in  the  front  of  Abraham's  good 
works,  had  they  been  either  in  whole,  or  in  part,  his  justifying 
righteousness  before  God.  David's  resolution  to  make  mention 
of  God's  righteousness,  and  of  that  only,  must  be  exclusive  of 
all  those  works  of  righteousness,  which  might  be  called  his  own. 
Thus  the  apostle's  desire  to  be  found  in  Christ,  not  having  his 
own  righteousness,  excludes  not  only  some,  but  all  those  works 
of  righteousness  he  had  wrought,  or  should  maintain,  to  the 
very  end  of  life,  though  he  was  a  tree  of  righteousness,  more 
and  more  loaded  therewith.  His  saying,  "  not  of  works,  lest 
any  man  shouki  boast,"  bars  them  from  being  part  of  our  jus- 
tifying righteousness  before  God;  and  so  does  that  other  text, 
"Now  to  him  that  works  not,  but  believes  on  him  that  justifies 
the  ungodly,  his  faith  is  counted  for  righteousness,"  Rom.  iv.  5. 
But  we  need  go  no  further  than  my  text  for  the  full  proof  of 
this:  it  was  in  primitive  times,  a  known  truth,  which  none  dis- 
puted, that  a  man  is  not  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law,  but 
by  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ.  We  may  safely  conclude,  there- 
fore, as  the  apostle  does,  that  "  we  are  justified  by  faith,  without 
the  deeds  of  the  law;  for  by  the  law  is  the  knowledge  of  sin," 
Rom.  iii.  20.  The  dagger  that  gives  the  wound,  may  as  soon 
cure  it,  as  the  law  justify  any:  such  as  thus  seek  to  be  justified, 
are  so  far  from  attaining  their  end,  that  they  are  doctrinally 
fallen  from  grace,  Gal.  v.  4,  and  do  as  much  as  in  them  lies, 


292  OF    JUSTIFICATION. 

to  make  the  death  of  Christ  vain  and  ineffectual,  Gal.  ii.  21. 
Good  works,  how  spiritual  soever  they  may  be,  are  not  a  val- 
uable consideration  laid  down  by  us,  for  the  robe  of  Christ's 
righteousness;  which  can  no  more  be  purchased  by  us,  than  the 
power  of  giving  the  Holy  Ghost  could  by  Simon  the  sorcerer. 
Such  a  purchase  would  aggrandize  the  saint,  to  the  depreciating 
of  the  Saviour,  whose  righteousness  is  called  a  gift,  but  not 
once  a  sale,  in  Scripture;  neither  are  good  works  our  warrant 
to  look  to  Christ  for  righteousness,  to  justification  and  life.  To 
bar  this,  we  are  told,  as  has  been  observed,  how  it  is,  that,  as 
to  ourselves,  we  are  considered  by  God,  when  he  justifies  any, 
not  as  saints,  but  as  sinners:  But  to  him  that  works  not,  but\ 
believes  on  him  that  justifies  the  ungodly,  his  faith  is  counted 
for  righteousness.  Our  warrant  to  receive  Christ,  as  the  Lord 
our  righteousness,  is  not  human,  but  divine ;  the  call  and  pro- 
mise of  the  gospel,  and  not  any  worth  or  worthiness  in  us;  Not 
by  works  of  righteousness  which  ive  have  done,  but  according 
to  his  mercy  he  saved  ns. 

But  though  the  best  of  works  are  no  part  of  our  justifying 
righteousness  before  God,  all  good  works  evidence  our  being 
among  the  number  of  God's  justified  ones.  This  they  do,  as 
they  speak  our  faith  to  be  unfeigned;  a  faith  of  the  right  kind, 
which  works  by  love:  they  also  do  it,  as  they  speak  our  union 
to  Christ  to  be  real,  that  we  are  truly  one  spirit  with  the  Lord; 
so  that  good  works  evidence  our  justification,  as  good  fruit  evi- 
dences the  goodness  of  the  tree ;  and  as  streams  that  are  sweet, 
speak  the  sweetness  of  the  fountain. 

7.  I  shall  next  consider,  whether  the  laiv  is  of  any  use  in  the 
business  of  a  sinner's  justification  before  God,  and  show  of 
what  use  it  is.  The  moral  law  is  the  great  standard  of  all  right- 
eousness: had  not  Christ's  suretiship  righteousness  come  up,  in 
every  point,  to  this  perfect  rule,  neither  he  himself,  as  Mediator, 
nor  any  of  his,  could  have  been  justified;  the  curse  of  which 
law,  as  a  broken  covenant,  reaches  sinners  of  all  ranks  and 
degrees,  whilst  lying  out  from  Christ:  it  is  therefore  of  no  small 
use,  in  the  hand  of  the  Spirit,  to  awaken  those  of  God's  elect, 
where  the  gospel  comes;  by  which  they  are  not  only  struck 
dumb  and  silenced,  as  to  all  pleas,  by  way  of  excuse,  but  dead, 
as  to  all  hopes  of  establishing  a  justifying  righteousness  of  their 
own.  Thus  the  apostle  Paul,  who,  whilst  a  dead  Pharisee,  was 
alive  in  his  own  conceit,  without  the  law;  when  that  came  in 
its  spirituality  and  extent,  sin  so  revived,  as  to  the  sense  of  it, 
that  he  died;  and  the  commandment,  which  was  originally  or- 
dained to  life,  and  was  so  given  to  our  first  parents,  he  found  to 
be  to  death;  for  instead  of  justifying,  by  it  is  the  knowledge  of 
sin,  and  consequently  it  must  of  necessity  condemn  the  sinner: 
this  holds  true  of  all  laws,  if  transgressed;  but  more  especially 
of  the  moral. 


OF   JUSTIFICATION.  293 

I  shall  observe  of  what  use  the  written  word  is  in  this  weighty 
affair,  of  which  the  law  and  light  of  nature  knew  nothing  before 
the  fall,  the  whole  thereof  being  matter  of  pure  revelation:  "If 
thou  dost  well,  shalt  thou  not  be  accepted  ?"  Gen.  iv.  7,  is  the 
language  of  creation-due;  but  our  being  justified  by  faith,  and 
accepted  to  eternal  life,  in  the  Beloved,  is  all  of  grace,  and  the 
peculiar  language  of  the  gospel.  Both  Testaments  are  full  of 
the  glory  of  Christ,  as  the  Lord  our  righteousness,  and  of  en- 
couragement to  seek  to  him  for  all  righteousness,  to  bring  us  into, 
and  to  continue  us  in  a  pardoned,  justified,  reconciled,  adopted 
state  for  ever:  both  Testaments  also  testify,  that  "  in  the  Lord 
shall  all  the  believing  seed  of  Israel  be  justified,  and  shall  glory," 
Isa.  xlv.  24,  whose  faith,  in  opposition  to  the  popish  notion  of 
believing  as  the  church  believes,  is  described  by  knowledge : 
"By  his  knowledge  shall  my  righteous  Servant  justify  many," 
chap,  xliii.  11,  of  v/hich  we  have  a  more  full  and  particular  ac- 
count in  the  New  Testament,  especially  in  the  epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans, where  this  righteousness  is  called  a  gift;  and  is,  in  so 
many  words,  said  "  to  be  to  all,  and  upon  all  them  that  believe, 
and  that  without  difference;  as  really  to  all  justifying  intents 
and  purposes  upon  Abraham's  believing  seed,  as  upon  Abraham 
the  father  of  the  faithful;  as  really  upon  New  Testament  saints, 
as  upon  those  of  the  Old;  as  really  upon  us,  at  this  distance  of 
time,  as  upon  primitive  saints,  and  the  apostles  themselves ;  as 
really  upon  babes,  as  upon  fathers  in  Christ.  Were  Moses,  and 
all  the  prophets,  upon  earth ;  was  Paul,  with  all  the  apostles, 
here ;  and  should  the  true  behever  ask  them  their  thoughts  con- 
cerning his  state,  they  would  unanimously  declare  him  a  justi- 
fied person :  one  freed  from  all  condemnation  on  the  one  hand, 
and  entitled  to  heaven,  on  the  other.  God's  written  word  is 
full  of  the  excelling  worth  of  this  righteousness,  and  of  the  gra- 
cious designs  of  God  in  providing  it ;  how  and  to  what  ends  it 
is  upon  us  who  believe,  and  with  what  certainty  and  success. 
There  we  have  the  Father's  testimony  concerning  his  Son,  as 
the  Lord  our  righteousness,  and  his  command  to  us  to  hear  him ; 
whose  calls  and  counsels  direct  to  Christ,  as  the  end  of  the  law  for 
righteousness,  and  whose  charge  is  to  go  no  where  else.  In  a 
word,  we  are  taught  the  one  and  only  way  of  a  sinner's  justifi- 
cation before  God ;  and,  by  the  same  word,  we  are  directed  and 
encouraged  to  get  into  it,  and  to  abide  therein.  Here  the  pur- 
poses of  God  are  put  into  promises,  that  faith  may  go  to  a 
throne  of  grace,  and  plead  them.  Grace  in  the  heart  and  pur- 
pose of  God,  is  like  gold  in  the  mine  ;  but  grace  in  the  promise, 
be  it  those  promises  which  relate  to  our  justification,  or  any 
other  gospel  privilege,  is  like  gold  in  the  mint ;  it  is  ours  to 
traffic  with,  in  a  spiritual  sense. 

I  shall  next  consider  the  use  of  conscience,  in  this  momentous 
affair.     In  this  court,  the  law  keeps  its  register,  as  it  relates  to 


294  OF   JUSTIFICATION. 

duty,  and  to  sin;  and  the  justice  of  God  an  account  of  the  num- 
bers, and  aggravating  circumstances  of  every  sinner's  sins,  how 
great  sinners  they  are  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  and  what  is  due  to 
Ihem,  according  to  the  righteous  judgment  of  God,  for  their 
sins.  Here  God's  testimony  concerning  his  Son  is  received, 
when  this  court  is  purged  and  renewed;  and  our  beUeving  with 
the  heart  is  noted  or  set  down.  All  the  witnesses  to  a  believer's 
justification  are  heard  in  this  court,  and  all  objections  against  it 
are  here  canvassed  and  answered.  In  this  court,  the  world,  the 
flesh,  and  the  devil,  lodge  their  accusations  against  the  believer, 
drawn  from  the  strength  of  his  corruptions,  and  from  the  weak- 
ness of  his  faith;  and  here  it  is  that  they  are  removed:  so  that 
this  court,  which  was  once  full  of  bribes,  and  false  reports,  as 
well  as  with  false  witnesses,  being  renewed  by  the  Spirit  of 
Christ,  and  sprinkled  with  his  blood,  is,  less  or  more,  filled  with 
peace  and  with  joy  in  believing.  This  matchless  robe  of  right- 
eousness has  in  the  folds  thereof  peace  with  God  ;  and  all  clothed 
therewith  may  and  should  rejoice  in  the  hope  of  his  glory:  they 
should  also  glory  in  tribulation,  and  call  the  world's  frowns 
theirs,  as  well  as  its  smiles;  adversity,  as  well  as  prosperity;  and 
death  itself,  as  well  as  life.  This  they  are  enabled,  in  some  good 
measure,  to  do  ;  when  he,  who  searches  the  deep  things  of  God, 
is  pleased  to  shine  in  upon  their  graces,  and  to  shed  abroad  the 
love  of  God,  in  the  provision  and  gift  of  this  righteousness  in 
their  hearts,  and  to  witness  with  their  spirits  that  therein  they 
are  made  the  righteousness  of  God ;  who,  as  he  is  Christ's  glo- 
rifier,  never  sets  his  seal  to  a  blank  for  the  world,  the  flesh,  and 
the  devil,  to  fill  up  at  pleasure,  as  some  libertines  would  per- 
suade themselves  and  others;  but  first  renews  and  works  faith, 
and  so  witnesses  to  his  own  work :  in  the  light  of  whose  wit- 
nessing presence  tlie  robe  of  Christ's  righteousness  appears  to 
be  most  glorious,  and  all  clothed  therewith  to  be  most  safe  and 
happy;  by  which  their  doubts  are  answered,  and  all  their  fears 
are  scattered,  and  they  go  on  their  way  rejoicing.  Instead  of 
sinning,  they  are  brought  to  obey,  with  a  high  hand  of  filial 
love  and  reverence ;  and  find,  by  blessed  experience,  that  the 
joy  of  the  Lord  is  their  strength,  to  bear,  as  well  as  to  do  his  will. 
As  the  least  mote  makes  the  eye  water,  so  the  least  sin  makes 
the  conscience,  that  is  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  Christ,  smite  ; 
other  consciences  may  be  scrupulous,  but  these  only  are  truly 
tender. 

IV.  My  last  work  shall  be  to  guard  against  crrot^s  of  all  sorts 
in  the  business  of  a  sinner's  justification  before  God. 

The  law,  as  a  covenant  of  works,  was  our  first  husband ;  to 
it,  as  such,  we  were  all  espoused  in  the  first  Adam;  the  language 
of  which  is.  Do  this,  and  live.  Now,  though  the  law  is  weak, 
through  the  flesh,  and  cannot  possibly  justify  any,  but  is  strong 
to  condemn ;  yet  such  is  the  pride  of  every  natural  man's  heart. 


OF   JUSTIFICATION.  295 

that  he  had  much  rather,  with  the  carnal  Jews,  go  to  Sinai,  than 
to  Zion,  for  a  justifying  righteousness;  and,  with  the  Papists, 
be  at  any  costs  and  pains  to  establish  a  justifying  righteousness 
of  his  own,  than  to  submit  to  Christ's. 

I  shall  begin  with  the  error  of  the  Jews,  particularly  of  the 
proud  conceited  Pharisees,  in  the  business  of  justification  before 
God.  Of  this  we  have  the  best  account,  both  from  the  pen  and 
from  the  practice  of  the  apostle  Paul,  whilst  a  Pharisee:  from 
his  pen;  "What  shall  we  say  then?  that  the  Gentiles,  who  fol- 
lowed not  after  righteousness,  have  attained  to  righteousness, 
even  the  righteousness  which  is  of  faith.  But  Israel,  who  fol- 
lowed after  the  law  of  righteousness,  has  not  attained  to  the  law 
of  righteousness :  wherefore  ?  because  they  sought  it  not  by 
faith,  but,  as  it  were,  by  the  works  of  the  law,"  Rom.  iv.  30. 
They  were  for  a  Sinai  covenant  and  righteousness,  and  not  for 
that  of  mount  Zion.  Though  they  were  a  generation  of  vipers, 
and  wliited  sepulchres,  especially  the  Pharisees;  yet  they  were 
foi  establishing  a  justifying  righteousness  of  their  own,  as  is  evi- 
dent, beyond  all  contradiction;  "For  they  being  ignorant  of 
God's  righteousness,  and  going  about  to  establish  their  own 
righteousness,  have  not  submitted  themselves  to  the  righteous- 
ness of  God,"  chap.  x.  3.  We  have  also  a  full  account  of  this 
from  the  apostle's  practice,  whilst  a  Pharisee,  of  which  he  gives 
a  very  particular  account,  in  his  third  chapter  to  the  Philippians : 
he  has  told  us  what  pains  he  took,  and  how  great  a  proficient 
he  was,  in  the  school  of  the  law,  as  a  covenant:  "Touching  the 
righteousness  which  is  of  the  law  blameless,"  Phil.  iii.  6.  This 
is  last  mentioned,  because  he  verily  thought,  whilst  he  was  a 
blind  Pharisee,  that  it  added  weight  and  worth  to  all  these  ex- 
ternal privileges  he  there  enumerated:  but  upon  his  being  made 
light  in  the  Lord,  he  spoke  in  a  quite  different  language;  "  That 
I  may  be  found  in  him,  not  having  my  own  righteousness,  which 
is  of  the  law,  but  that  which  is  through  the  faith  of  Christ,  the 
righteousness  which  is  of  God  by  faith,"  Phil.  iii.  9.  From 
Christ's  parable  of  the  Pharisee  and  the  Publican,  it  appears 
that  the  righteousness  which  the  former  trusted  to,  and  pleaded 
before  God,  was  a  comparative  righteousness;  "  God,  I  thank 
thee,  that  I  am  not  as  other  men  are,"  Luke  xviii.  11. 

I  shall  next  consider  the  error  which  infected  the  churches 
of  Galatia,  in  the  business  of  justification  before  God;  which 
was  this;  they  joined  together  mount  Sinai  and  mount  Zion, 
and  blended  the  two  dispensations,  that  of  the  law  and  that  of 
the  gospel,  and  put  the  veil  of  Moses  over  the  face,  or  gospel, 
of  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  business  of  justification  before  God.  This 
is  the  least  that  can  be  said  of  their  mistake;  though  it  is  plain, 
from  the  two  following  texts,  that  they  took  wider  and  worse 
steps,  in  joining  the  works,  both  of  the  moral  and  of  the  cere- 
monial law,  with  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Lord  our  righteous- 


296  OF    JUSTIFICATION. 

ness,  who  is  the  end  of  botli  for  righteousness,  to  every  one 
that  believes.  The  one  is,  "  If  righteousness  comes  by  the  law, 
then  Christ  is  dead  in  vain,"  Gal.  ii.  21 ;  an  awful  word,  which 
should  put  all  upon  their  guard,  as  to  the  important  doctrine 
of  a  sinner's  justification  before  God;  an  error  in  which,  is  of 
such  fatal  tendency.  The  other  is,  "  Whosoever  of  you  are  jus- 
tified by  the  law,  ye  are  fallen  from  grace,"  Gal.  v.  4,  that  is 
doctrinally.  It  is  observable  with  what  sharpness  he,  who  at 
other  times  was  gentle  among  the  saints,  "even  as  a  nurse 
cherishes  her  children,"  1  Thess,  ii.  7,  reproved  the  erring  Gala- 
tians,  whose  error  he  calls,  "  a  perverting  the  gospel  of  Christ," 
Gal.  i.  7. 

I  shall  next  consider  that  of  the  Pelagians.  The  error  of  Pe- 
lagius  was  his  exalting  the  free  will  of  the  creature  above  the 
free  grace  of  God,  in  all  the  articles  of  salvation,  and  consequent- 
ly in  this  of  justification:  he  laid  aside  the  doctrine  of  Christ's 
imputed,  for  that  of  our  own  inherent  righteousness;  that  free 
will  might  have  of  its  own,  wherein  to  trust,  whereof  to  glory, 
and  wherewith  to  come  before  God.  Thus  unmindful  was  he, 
and  so  are  all  his  followers,  of  what  Christ  has  told  us;  "  As  the 
branch  cannot  bear  fruit  of  itself,  except  it  abide  in  the  vine, 
no  more  can  ye,  except  ye  abide  in  me;  for  without  me  ye 
can  do  nothing,"  John  xv.  4,  5.  These  pervert  the  order  of 
grace,  as  much  as  the  order  of  nature  would  be  perverted,  should 
any  say,  that  the  branch  bears  the  root,  and  that  without  the 
root  the  branch  might  blossom  and  bring  forth  fruit.  That  great 
text,  so  expressive  of  the  grace  and  order  of  the  gospel,  is  a  full 
confutation  of  Pelagianism;  "By  grace  are  ye  saved  through 
faith,  and  that  not  of  yourselves:  it  is  the  gift  of  God;  not  of 
works,  lest  any  man  should  boast;  for  we  are  his  workmanship, 
created  in  Christ  Jesus  to  good  works,  which  God  has  before  or- 
dained, that  we  should  walk  in  them,"  Eph.  h.  8,  9,  10.  To  be 
sure,  Pelagius  was  one  of  the  greatest  patrons  of  free  will,  and 
as  bitter  an  enemy  to  free  grace,  as  the  church  ever  was  troubled 
with ;  his  leaven  has  spread  itself  far  and  near,  and  is  like  to  do 
more  and  more,  under  latter  day  darkness. 

In  the  same  path  Jirius  before  trod,  with  this  dreadful  addi- 
tion, his  affirming  Christ  to  be  no  more  than  a  creature,  though 
he  made  him  to  be  the  first  and  chief  of  mere  creatures:  thus 
he  robbed  Christ,  at  once,  of  the  divinity  of  his  Person,  and  of 
his  crown,  as  Mediator :  according  to  whom  the  great  end  of 
all  he  either  did  or  suffered,  was  partly  to  confirm  his  doctrine 
and  mission,  and  partly  to  set  his  people  an  example  ;  but  he 
utterly  denied  his  being,  in  a  true  and  proper  sense,  the  Lord 
our  righteousness,  or  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to 
every  one  that  believes.  And  so  did  Socinus,  with  this  further 
addition,  that  he  made  Christ  to  be  a  creature  of  a  late  date, 
who  had  no  existence  save  in  type  and  promise,  before  the  ful- 


OF   JUSTIFICATION.  297 

ness  of  time.  Thus  wilfully  did  he  shut  his  eyes  against  that 
great  chapter,  the  first  of  John,  which  alone  is  a  full  confutation 
of  his  soul  ruining  error;  where  Christ  is  not  represented  as 
beginning  with  time,  but  as  existing  before  all  time:  it  is  not, 
in  the  beginning  did  the  Word  begin  to  be ;  but  "  in  the  begin- 
ning was^'the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,"  eternal  as 
being  God;  for  so  it  follows,  "and  the  Word  was  God.  The 
same  was  in  the  beginning  with  God.  All  things  were  made 
by  him:  and  without  him  was  not  any  thing  made  that  was 
made.  He  was  in  the  world,  and  the  world  was  made  by  him," 
John  i.  1 — 3,  10.  The  Arminians  also  are  for  being  justified 
by  free  will  righteousness,  and  not  from  free  grace:  the  glorious 
gift  of  righteousness,  which  has  so  much  grace  in  it,  and  accom- 
panying of  it,  is  by  them  despised;  and  a  rag  of  their  own,  a 
sorry  web,  which  God  has  said  shall  never  become  a  garment, 
is  preferred.  They  shamefully  wrest  and  darken  all  those  texts, 
which  shine  in  both  Testaments,  like  stars  of  the  first  magni- 
tude; and  proclaim,  as  on  the  house  top,  that  Christ  is  the  Lord 
our  righteousness,  in  the  business  of  justification  before  God. 

Such  would  do  well  to  consider  the  history  of  free  will,  as 
it  is  recorded  in  the  historical  part  of  Scripture.  The  greatest 
trial  of  free  will,  was  the  trial  God  made  of  it,  in  Lucifer,  the 
son  of  the  morning,  and  in  all  the  non-elect  among  the  angels; 
who,  under  his  conduct,  kept  not  their  first  estate,  but  soon  left 
their  first  habitation;  and,  of  bright  and  shining  angels,  are  be- 
come infernal  devils.  Next  to  this  was  the  trial  God  made 
of  free  will,  in  our  first  parents;  from  whom  nothing  was  with- 
held, which  became  a  bountiful  Creator  to  bestow  on  so  noble 
a  creature  as  man;  but  how  soon  did  man,  left  to  the  conduct 
of  his  own  free  will,  lose  all,  and  become  bankrupt?  Now,  if 
free  will  made  no  earnings  of  a  covenant  of  works,  got  nothing 
by  it  in  a  state  of  innocency,  but  lost  all;  is  it  likely  to  recover 
all,  on  the  foot  of  a  covenant  of  works,  in  a  state  of  sin  and 
apostasy? 

We  may  here  consider,  how  man's  will  has  been  tried  since 
the  fall,  and  found  to  be  no  ways  fit  to  be  trusted.  Was  it  not 
tried  before  the  flood,  when  length  of  life,  and  strength  of  con- 
stitution, furnished  mankind  with  the  greatest  opportunities,  to 
improve  all  the  talents  free  will,  as  it  is  called,  was  intrusted 
with?  But,  instead  of  retrieving  what  it  had  lost,  or  growing 
better,  mankind  grew  worse  and  worse;  "And  God  saw  that 
the  wickedness  of  man  was  great  in  the  earth;  and  that  every 
imagination  of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart,  was  only  evil  continu- 
ally," Gen.  vi.  6.  Free  will  so  rebelled,  and  was  so  provoking, 
as  to  bring  down  a  deluge  of  water,  in  those  early  days,  on 
mankind;  as  it  will,  in  the  end,  bring  a  deluge  of  fire,  even  the 
general  conflagration.  It  is  very  observable,  and  very  hum- 
bling to  consider,  how  free  will,  instead  of  acting  the  grateful, 

38 


298  OF   JUSTIFICATION. 

dutiful,  obedient  part,  when  Israel  was  so  remarkably  delivered 
out  of  Egypt,  and  led  by  such  a  high  arm  of  power,  through 
the  Red  sea,  murmured  against  God;  called  his  power  in  ques- 
tion ;  talked  of  stoning  Moses,  and  of  returning  back  into  Egypt ; 
made  a  calf  in  Horeb,  just  before  the  burning  mount,  and  to  it 
ascribed  all  the  praise  of  Israel's  deliverance.  How  did  free 
will  behave  in  Christ's  day,  and  in  Christ's  family?  In  Christ's 
day,  in  the  persons  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  the  priests 
and  rulers;  who,  instead  of  receiving  the  Messiah  with  hearts 
enlarged  in  his  praise,  poured  on  him  the  utmost  contempt;  and 
though  they  wondered  at  the  miracles  wrought  by  him,  yet 
they  despised  his  person  and  character,  and  so  they  perished. 
And  as  free  will  acted  a  strange  and  most  unaccountable  part, 
in  Christ's  day,  so  it  acted  the  basest  part  in  Christ's  family,  in 
the  person  of  Judas;  who,  though  he  ate  of  his  bread,  saw  all 
the  miracles  which  were  wrought  by  Christ,  and  heard  the  gra- 
cious words  which  proceeded  out  of  his  mouth,  lifted  up  his 
heel  against  him,  sold  him  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  and  betray- 
ed him  with  a  kiss.  This  put  the  traitor  upon  being  his  own 
executioner,  prepared  the  halter  he  deserved,  put  it  about  his 
neck,  and  so  dispatched  him.  In  a  word,  all  the  sins  that  were 
ever  acted  on  earth,  are  the  birth  of  free  will. 

I  shall  next  consider  the  Papists,  who,  the  better  to  establish 
a  justifying  righteousness  of  their  own,  blend  justification  and 
sanctification  together,  and  make  a  change  of  state  to  be  one 
and  the  same  thing  with  a  change  of  nature :  as  if  a  traitor's 
becoming  a  loyal  subject,  and  his  being  pardoned,  were  one 
and  the  same ;  whereas  fact  and  experience  prove  them  to  be 
divers.  They  also  destroy  the  oneness  and  completeness  of 
Christ's  satisfaction,  making  a  dreadful  mixture  in  the  laver  of 
the  sanctuary  of  their  worthless  tears  with  Christ's  most  pre- 
cious blood;  to  which  they  add  their  unscriptural  penances,  pil- 
grimages, vows,  and  abstinences,  which  they  esteem  and  preach 
up  to  be  at  least  atoning,  if  not  meritorious.  Thus  they  place, 
in  the  room  of  Christ's  suretiship  righteousness,  a  righteousness 
of  their  own,  made  up  of  superstition  and  will-worship;  the 
worshipping  of  saints  and  angels ;  the  respect  they  pay  to  the 
cross,  and  to  all  manner  of  relics,  their  vespers  and  paternosters; 
their  works  of  supererogation ;  and  the  merits  and  intercession 
of  their  many  saints,  with  the  Virgin  at  the  head  of  them.  They 
tell  us  roundly,  and  without  mincing  the  matter,  that  Christ  has 
merited,  that  we  may  merit;  so  that  Christ  and  his  righteous- 
ness are  but  as  the  steps  leading  to  the  throne,  on  which  carnal 
self  is  by  them  exalted ;  or  as  the  scaffolds  which  they  make  use 
of  in  building  Babel;  by  which,  sorry  as  they  are,  they  hope 
to  mount  the  highest  heaven.  Thus  doth  Antichrist  interfere 
with  Christ  in  all  his  offices,  that  of  a  priest,  as  well  as  those  of 
a  king,  and  of  a  prophet. 


OF   JUSTIFICATION.  299 

I  shall  next  consider  the  mistake  of  the  Neonomians,  who 
turn  the  gospel  into  a  new  and  remedial  law,  and  make  faith, 
repentance,  and  sincere  obedience,  to  be  the  sinner's  justifying 
righteousness  before  God.  That  God's  saved  ones  are  brought 
to  repent,  and  believe,  and  obey,  is  readily  owned;  but  as  it  is 
for  the  sake  of  Christ,  and  of  his  righteousness,  that  it  is  given 
to  any  to  repent,  to  believe,  and  to  obey;  so  these  things  can  no 
more  be  their  justifying  righteousness  before  God,  than  Christ 
can  be  divided  against  himself.  So  long  as  Christ  is  the  Lord 
our  righteousness,  and  is  revealed  in  the  gospel,  as  "  the  end  of 
the  law  for  righteousness,  to  every  one  that  believes,"  nothing 
that  is  ours  can  share  with  him  therein :  will  he,  who  is  to  judge 
us,  suffer  himself  to  be  thus  supplanted  by  us?  Shall  we  receive, 
at  the  hand  of  Christ,  a  heart  to  repent,  and  believe,  and  obey, 
and  then  make  a  Christ  of  it  ?  The  grace  that  gave  Christ  for 
us,  and  gives  Christ  to  us,  cannot  be  so  mistaken,  as  to  teach 
any  to  establish  a  justifying  righteousness  of  their  own. 

I  shall  next  consider  the  error  of  the  Quakers,  who  igno- 
rantly,  to  say  no  worse  of  them,  make  a  Christ  of  the  light  of 
nature,  and  a  gospel  of  the  law  of  nature;  whose  justifying 
righteousness  is  made  up  of  moral  duties,  such  as  are  taught, 
not  by  the  word  of  God,  but  by  the  light  within.  Thus  they 
mistake  the  light  of  the  moon  for  that  of  the  sun,  as  if  the  moon 
could  make  the  day,  or  ripen  the  harvest.  The  light  and  law 
of  nature  have  their  use,  of  which  Cornelius  is  the  top  instance 
that  we  meet  with  in  Scripture ;  and  yet  to  Cornelius  this  mes- 
sage is  sent :  "  Send  men  to  Joppa,  and  call  for  Simon,  whose 
surname  is  Peter,  who  shall  tell  thee  words,  whereby  thou  and 
all  thy  house  shall  be  saved,"  Acts  xi.  13,  14.  One  would  have 
thought  that  Cornelius,  whose  prayer  was  heard,  and  whose 
alms  were  had  in  remembrance  in  the  sight  of  God,  had  been 
in  a  pardoned,  justified,  reconciled  state;  especially  upon  that 
saying  of  Peter's,  "  Of  a  truth,  I  perceive  that  God  is  no  res- 
pecter of  persons;  but,  in  every  nation,  he  that  fears  him,  and 
works  righteousness,  is  accepted  of  him."  And  yet  the  mes- 
sage the  apostle  Peter  was  sent  to  him  about,  was  to  tell  him 
words  whereby  he  and  his  house  should  be  saved.  From  which 
we  safely  gather,  that  how  commendable  soever  morality  and 
natural  religion  are  in  themselves,  and  how  much  soever  God 
may  approve  of  them,  as  beyond  all  doubt  he  does,  they  cannot 
supply  the  place  of  Christ:  if  they  could,  Christ  might  have  been 
spared,  and  a  Plato,  or  a  Seneca,  have  supplied  the  room  of  a 
Peter  or  an  apostle  Paul. 

I  shall,  in  the  last  place,  mention  the  error  of  the  Antinomi- 
ans;  where  I  shall  show  who  and  what  the  true  Antinomians 
are:  for  all  are  not  so,  who  are  so  nick-named  by  the  enemy. 
The  apostle  Paul  was  so  called  in  his  day,  and  so  was  Christ; 
and  thus  are  many  of  Christ's  faithful  ministers  called  in  our 


300  '  OF   JUSTIFICATION. 

dark  day,  for  preaching  no  other  doctrine  than  that  contained 
in  mj^  text.  The  Antinomians  are  either  speculative  or  practi 
cal:  speculative  are  such  as  endeavour  to  persuade  themselves 
and  others,  that  sin  can  do  them  no  harm.  That  it  shall  not 
destroy  nor  damn  the  true  believer,  we  readily  own;  but  of  the 
hurt  it  does  them,  they  have  less  or  more  the  experience,  when- 
ever they  fall  into  sin;  as  David  had,  under  the  Old  Testament, 
and  the  apostle  Peter  had,  under  the  New.  They  likewise  say, 
that  God  sees  no  sin  in  his  people:  none  for  which  to  condemn 
them,  we  readily  grant;  but  that  he  sees  sin  in  the  best  of  them, 
to  purge  it  out  by  his  word,  and  by  his  rod,  is  what  we  afiirm. 
They  say  further,  that  believers  are  not  to  pray  for  the  forgive- 
ness of  their  daily  sins;  not  distinguishing  between  that  which 
is  virtual,  in  the  purpose  of  God,  and  in  the  purchase  of  Christ, 
and  that  which  is  actual,  according  to  the  word.  It  is  not  to 
be  forgiven  in  purpose,  or  in  purchase,  that  the  beUever  prays; 
but  to  have  purposed  and  purchased  forgiveness  actually  ap- 
plied to  him,  according  to  the  word.  Their  worst  notion  is,  that 
believers  are  not  under  the  law,  as  a  rule  of  duty  to  Christ;  but 
may  live  as  they  list,  sin  not  being  able  to  hurt  them.  I  would 
hope  that  of  these  there  are  very  few,  if  any,  among  Protestant 
Dissenters.  Such  would  do  well  to  remember,  so  as  to  copy 
after  the  apostle  Paul,  who  bewailed  sin  in  its  remains,  Rom. 
vii.  24,  and  desired  to  have  it  further  mortified,  Phil,  iii,  20,  and 
was  under  the  law  to  Christ,  1  Cor.  ix.  21.  Practical  Antino- 
mians are  those  the  apostle  speaks  of;  "  For  many  walk,  of 
whom  I  have  often  told  you,  and  now  tell  you,  even  weeping, 
that  they  are  enemies  to  the  cross  of  Christ;  whose  end  is  de- 
struction, whose  God  is  their  belly,  and  whose  glory  is  in  their 
shame,  who  mind  earthly  things,"  Phil.  iii.  18.  These,  it  is  to 
be  feared,  are  many,  and  that  their  numbers  are  daily  increas- 
ing: they  gather  not  honey  and  sweetness,  with  the  bee,  but 
with  the  spider,  poison  from  this  flower  of  paradise,  the  doctrine 
of  a  sinner's  justification  before  God. 

APPLICATION. 

All  the  application  I  shall  make  is,  to  put  you  upon  the  in- 
quiry, how  near  this  righteousness  has  been  brought  to  you. 

To  the  ear  of  all  here  present  it  has  been  brought,  times  with- 
out number;  that  is,  in  the  sound  of  it,  and  into  the  head  and 
memory,  in  the  notion  of  it:  but  has  it  been  brought  into  your 
hearts  in  the  love  and  liking  of  it?  Do  you,  from  and  with  the 
heart,  begin  to  like,  and  choose,  and  prefer  this  way  of  a  sin- 
ner's justification  before  God?  His  being  made  the  righteous- 
ness of  God  in  Christ,  and  so  freed  in  that  righteousness  from 
all  condemnation  on  the  one  hand,  and  his  being  entitled  to 
eternal  glory  on  the  other;  of  which  it  may  be  safely  said,  for 


OF    JUSTIFICATION.  301 

it  may  be  abundantly  proved  from  Scripture,  that  of  all  possi- 
ble ways  of  a  sinner's  justification,  this  excels  in  glory;  other- 
wise it  could  not  be  said,  that  therein  God  has  "  abounded 
towards  us  in  all  wisdom  and  prudence,"  Eph.  i.  18,  which 
holds  true  as  of  the  whole,  so  of  every  part  of  the  salvation  we 
have  in  and  by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Has  this  righteousness  been  brought  into  your  consciences, 
in  the  peace  and  comfort  of  it?  Your  spirits,  it  may  be,  are 
easy;  but  how  came  they  so  to  be?  If  never  disturbed  and  dis- 
tressed for  sin,  it  is  a  sad  sign  that  their  ease  is  from  carnal  secu- 
rity, and  not  from  Christ.  Or  if  the  case  be  such  as  they  at  Rome 
are  full  of,  who  think,  by  their  good  works,  both  to  atone  and 
merit,  it  is  so  far  from  being  Christ's  peace,  that  it  is  Antichris- 
tian.  But  if  it  is  founded  on  Christ's  righteousness,  received  by 
faith,  as  your  alone  justifying  righteousness ;  if  your  hearts  have 
been  with  Christ,  as  the  Lord  your  righteousness,  the  gospel  in 
both  Testaments  declares,  that  you  are  at  peace  with  God,  as 
being  justified  by  faith. 

Do  you  evidence  that  you  have  thus  been  with  Jesus,  both 
by  your  worship  and  by  your  walk  ?  Is  the  one  spiritual,  and 
the  other  circumspect?  Go  astray  you  may  like  lost  sheep;  but 
wallow  in  the  mire  of  sin,  like  swine,  you  cannot.  The  same 
grace  that  has  changed  your  state, has  renewed  your  hearts;  so 
that  you  are  really  "dead  to  sin,  but  alive  to  God,  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord."  There  is  not  a  doctrine  in  the  gospel  but  it 
may  be  abused:  but  a  work  of  grace  on  the  heart  cannot;  that 
is  like  a  running  spring,  which  breaks  through  all  opposition, 
and  works  out  all  filth. 


THE 

DOCTRINE   OF   EFFICACIOUS  GRACE, 

ASSERTED  AND  VINDICATED: 

IN   TWO   SERMONS. 
By  MR.  SAMUEL  WILSON. 

MINISTER  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 


SERMON  I. 

Philippians  ii.  13. — It  is  God  who  worketh  in  yon,  both  to  will  and  to  do,  of  his 
own  good  pleasure. 

In  the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  the  apostle  recommends  to  the 
saints,  at  PhiHppi,  mutual  forbearance,  affection,  humihty,  and 
condescension,  as  the  great  ornament  of  the  Christian  character. 
To  this  end,  he  reminds  them  of  their  common  fellowship  of  the 
Spirit,  and  their  joint  relation  to,  and  interest  in,  the  blessed 
Jesus;  who,  as  he  observes,  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  exemplified 
these  graces,  in  a  very  distinguishing  manner:  so  entirely  was 
his  heart  set  upon  advancing  his  Father's  honour,  and  so  pre- 
vailing the  affection  which  he  bore  to  his  people,  that,  "  Though 
he  was  in  the  form  of  God,  and  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be 
equal  with  God,  yet  he  made  himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took 
upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  was  made  in  the  likeness  of 
men;  and,  being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  humbled  himself, 
and  became  obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross." 
Now,  says  the  apostle,  you  profess  to  be  the  disciples  of  this 
Jesus,  you  call  him  Lord;  keep  in  view  then  his  temper  and 
conduct,  and  copy  after  him :  "  Let  the  same  mind  be  in  you 
that  was  in  him;"  and  so  much  the  rather  give  diligence  herein, 
as  I,  who  when  present  with  you,  was  serviceable,  as  an  healer 
of  your  breaches,  and  an  helper  of  your  faith  and  joy,  am  now 
providentially  removed  from  among  you :  "  Wherefore,  my  be- 
loved, as  ye  have  always  obeyed,  not  as  in  my  presence  only, 
but  how  much  more  in  my  absence,  work  out  your  own  salva- 
tion with  fear  and  trembling."  God  is  calling  you  to  duty,  dili- 
gence, and  circumspection;  give  no  occasion  for  the  reproach 
that  your  zeal  declined  upon  my  leaving  you;  but  remember 
what  is  before  you,  a  crown  of  immortal  glory,  and  run  with 
patience  and  constancy  the  race  that  is  appointed  you;  and, 
in  your  way  to  the  prize,  let  there  be  no  other  contention,  but 
who  shall  soonest  reach  the  goal,  and  first  lay  hold  of  eternal 
302 


OF   EFFICACIOUS    GRACE.  303 

life.  And  lest  they  should,  conscious  of  their  own  spiritual  im- 
potence, be  discouraged,  he  adds,  "  For  it  is  God  that  worketh 
in  you,"  &c.  Your  work,  indeed,  is  great,  your  difficulties  many; 
but  if  God  is  with  you,  he  will  give  you  a  will,  and  furnish  you 
with  power  to  perform  what  is  acceptable  to  him. 

Perhaps  it  will  be  said,  that  the  words  under  consideration, 
relate  to  saints  already  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  their  mind,  and 
so  cannot,  with  propriety,  be  produced  as  an  argument  for  the 
necessity  of  a  divine  agency,  in  the  conversion  of  a  sinner.  To 
this  it  might  be  answered,  that  it  is  no  unusual  thing,  in  theo- 
logical inquiries,  to  borrow  a  passage  of  Scripture,  as  an  illus- 
tration, where  it  is  not  insisted  on  as  a  direct  proof;  but  the  in- 
stance before  us,  admitting  it  primarily  may  belong  to  believers, 
the  consequence  will  be  this,  that  either  the  sinner  has  more 
will  to,  and  power  for,  that  which  is  good,  than  the  saint,  or  the 
same  God,  who  works  in  the  one,  must  also  in  the  other,  both 
to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure.  If  a  good  man,  who 
knows  so  much  of  his  duty,  who  has  been  so  long  accustomed 
to  the  discharge  of  it,  and  so  often  tasted  the  sweets  of  commu- 
nion with  God,  whilst  engaged  in  his  service;  if  in  the  midst  of 
all  his  advantages,  experience,  and  hope,  he  cannot  of  himself 
will  or  perform  anything  that  is  spiritually  good;  much  less  the 
sinner  whose  heart  is  carnal,  who  is  a  slave  to  his  lusts,  and  un- 
der the  tyranny  of  the  god  of  this  world. 

The  word  which  we  translate  worketh,  is  expressive  of  power, 
yea,  of  mighty  power;  it  supposes  a  difficulty  in  the  perform- 
ance, and  perfection  of  superior  strength  in  the  agent.  It  is  not 
barely  our  setting  our  hand  to  a  work,  but  the  doing  of  it  tho- 
roughly, or  to  purpose.  Accordingly,  when  the  arm  of  the  Lord 
is  revealed,  the  sinner  is  born  again,  by  the  exceeding  greatness 
of  that  power,  whereby  he  subdues  all  things  to  himself.  There 
is  an  energy  on  God's  part,  and  a  change  on  ours. 

This  working  of  the  Almighty  is  further  described  to  us  as 
internal :  He  worketh  in  us,  and  that  both  to  will,  as  well  as  to 
do.  Ministers  preach  to  us,  but  God  worketh  in  us.  The  best  of 
means,  applied  with  the  utmost  skill,  will  not  of  themselves 
soften  the  hard,  or  cleanse  the  impure  heart:  God  only  has  ac- 
cess to  the  spirits  of  men,  so  as  to  secure  this  desirable  event, 
and  he  can  do  it  on  whom  and  when  he  pleases;  For  "he  work- 
eth in  us,  of  his  own  good  pleasure;"  a  phrase  which  has  in  it 
the  ideas  of  sovereignty  and  of  kindness.  God  gives  his  grace 
at  pleasure,  to  whom,  and  in  what  degree,  he  thinks  fit,  dividing 
to  every  man  as  he  will:  and  as  this  grace  is  his  own  image, and 
leads  on  to  the  glorious  enjoyment  of  himself,  it  must  needs  be 
a  favour  of  inestimable  value. 

The  words  being  explained,  give  us  an  occasion  to  observe, 

"  That  when  a  sinner  is  born  again,  there  is  a  change  wrought 
in  his  soul,  by  the  mighty  power  of  God." 


304  OF   EFFICACIOUS    GRACE. 

By  this  change  I  do  not  understand  an  alteration  of  profes- 
sion or  character  barely;  for  as  the  apostle  tells  us,  circumcision 
avails  no  more  than  uncircumcision,  where  the  new  creature  is 
wanting.  The  change  we  intend  is  real,  not  nominal ;  a  change 
of  the  subject  not  of  the  name  only.  A  man  may  professedly 
renounce  idolatry,  submit  to  baptism,  as  a  badge  of  Christianity, 
and  attend  the  worship  of  God,  in  the  assemblies  of  the  saints; 
call  himself,  and  be  deemed  by  others,  a  believer ;  and  yet  be  a 
stranger  to  the  change  we  are  treating  of.  Again,  we  distin- 
guish the  grace  of  God  in  the  renewing  of  a  sinner,  from  reason, 
or  the  improvements  of  it,  when  its  dictates  are  supposed  to  be 
duly  attended  to.  Reason  belongs  to  us  as  men,  and  is  common 
to  our  nature,  as  raised  above  the  beasts  that  perish:  but  this  is 
not  sufficient  to  make  us  wise  unto  salvation.  Where  is  the  per- 
son of  whom  it  may  be  said,  that,  after  a  course  of  sin  and  im- 
piety, he  brought  himself  by  bare  reasoning,  to  forsake  the  evil 
of  his  way,  to  love  the  Lord  his  God  with  all  his  heart,  to  be- 
lieve on  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  worship  God  in  the  Spirit  and  to  per- 
severe in  these  things  luito  the  end?  Experience  tells  us,  that 
sin  and  Satan  so  entirely  possess  the  sinner's  heart,  that  there 
must  be  something  more  than  the  care  and  improvement  of  our 
reason  to  make  room  for  Christ  and  holiness.  Nor  further,  do 
we  mean  by  this  change  that  which  is  merely  the  result  of  pre- 
senting certain  truths  to  the  understanding,  in  a  strong  and  en- 
gaging light;  so  that  whereas  formerly  they  were  either  not  at 
all,  or  very  little,  attended  to  by  us,  now  we  are  brought,  with 
proper  application,  to  reflect  and  meditate  on  them,  and  so  are 
by  deductions  from  them,  engaged  in  the  choice  of  virtue,  and 
the  hatred  of  vice.  This,  indeed,  we  allow  to  follow  upon  this 
change,  as  a  fruit  of  it;  but  till  the  soul  is  spiritually  enlighten- 
ed, we  suppose  it  to  be  incapable  of  judging  aright  of  spiritual 
truths,  or  of  forming  practical  conclusions  from  them. 

In  contradistinction  to  these  accounts  of  regeneration,  we  as- 
sert that  it  is  the  implanting  of  a  principle  of  spiritual  life,  or  the 
forming  of  the  divine  image  in  the  soul,  in  which  the  soul  itself, 
as  to  the  substance  of  it,  remains  the  same,  but  the  qualities  of 
it  are  altered ;  the  understanding,  from  being  darkened,  becomes 
light  in  the  Lord;  the  will,  which  before  was  rebellious  against 
God,  is  now  brought  into  subjection  to  him ;  and  the  affections, 
which  before  were  wholly  carnal,  and  determined  on  sensual 
objects  are  now  purified  and  refined,  and  fixed  on  heavenly 
things.  In  a  word  the  change  is  real  and  universal,  the  power 
which  eflects  it  is  divine,  the  fruits  many  and  discernible,  and 
the  great  efficient  Jehovah  the  Spirit. 

A  particular  account  of  the  exact  way  in  which  the  Spirit 
accomplishes  this  great  work  is  not  to  be  expected,  after  our 
Lord  has  told  us,  that  as  "the  wind  bloweth  where  it  listeth, 
and  we  hear  the  sound  thereof,  but  cannot  tell  whence  it  cometh, 


OF   EFFICACIOUS   GRACE.  305 

and  whither  it  goeth,  so  is  every  one  that  is  bom  of  the  Spirit," 
John  iii.  S,  so  that  we  are  to  attend  only  to  the  proof  of  the 
fact:  that  what  the  Scripture  calls  the  new  creature,  or  a  prin- 
ciple of  grace,  is  formed  or  wrought  in  the  soul  by  the  power  of 
God,  in  a  way  of  efficacious  grace.  I  choose  to  call  it  the  neiv 
creature,  as  distinguishing  between  regeneration  and  conver- 
sion, the  one  being  previous  to,  though  necessarily  connected 
with  the  other.  In  regeneration,  we  are  passive,  and  receive 
from  God;  in  conversion,  we  are  active,  and  turn  to  him;  we 
repent,  believe,  and  obey:  but  this  supposes  we  have  been  his 
workmanship;  and,  by  his  power,  have  been  renewed  in  the 
spirit  of  our  mind. 

Here  I  shall  in  some  measure,  pursue  the  very  same  method 
which  a  late  celebrated  writer,  on  the  other  side  of  the  question, 
admits  to  be  just,  and  which  he  therefore  keeps  in  view,  in  all 
his  reasoning  on  the  subject;  and  so  begin, 

1.  With  those  arguments  which  may  be  taken  from  the 
Scripture  account  of  the  work  itself,  which  is  represented  to  us 
in  such  terms,  as  lead  us  necessarily  to  conclude,  that  the  soul 
is  passive  in  it,  and  that  it  is  brought  about  by  the  arm  of  the 
Almighty.     Thus, 

1.  The  apostle  tells  us,  "  If  any  man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new 
creature,"  2  Cor.  v.  17.  And  again,  "  Neither  circumcision 
availeth  any  thing,  nor  uncircumcision,  but  a  new  creature," 
Gal.  vi.  15.  And  so  we  are  said  to  be  God's  workmanship 
created:  and  yet  more  expressly,  the  new  man  is  said  to  be 
"  created  after  God  in  righteousness  and  true  holiness,"  Eph.  iv. 
24.  I  do  not  find  it  disputed  whether  these  passages  refer  to  the 
subject  before  us;  and  if  they  do,  it  must  be  allowed  that  either 
the  metaphor  is  ill  chosen,  and  wrongly  applied,  or  it  must  be 
expressive  of  the  same  power  in  the  new  birth,  with  that  which 
was  exerted  in  creation,  or  the  making  of  something  out  of  no- 
thing. 

To  this  it  is  objected,  that  the  term,  create,  does  not  always 
suppose  the  persons  or  things  said  to  be  created,  to  be  wholly 
passive,  or  the  power  to  be  so  great  as  we  pretend;  for  God  is 
said  to  create  and  form  the  church  of  the  Jews,  Isa.  xliii.  1, 
which  must  be  understood  of  their  stipulating  with  God,  as  well 
as  of  his  engagements  to  them;  in  which  their  covenanting 
with  him  they  were  active.  To  this  we  answer,  It  is  certain, 
whether  the  phrase  is  to  be  understood  in  a  natural  or  political 
sense,  it  stands  connected  with  two  other  instances  of  God's 
goodness,  {viz.  redeeming  them,  and  calling  them  by  their  name) 
in  which  they  had  no  concern  but  what  was  purely  passive :  and, 
if  we  consider  how  often  God  upbraids  that  people  with  their 
breach  of  covenant,  it  will  not  so  well  agree  with  the  design  of 
the  place,  which  is  evidently  their  encouragement,  that  this  cir- 
cumstance should  be  introduced,  which  must  necessarily  affect 

39 


306  OF   EFFICACIOUS    GRACE. 

them  with  shame  and  fear.  I  cannot  but  think  there  was  sc 
much  sovereignty  in  God's  choosing  Abraham,  and  so  much 
power  in  his  raising  his  family,  from  so  small  a  beginning,  to  be 
so  great  a  people,  as  might  abundantly  justify  the  prophet  in  the 
use  of  the  terms  create  and  ybr7?z,  without  having  any  regard  to 
their  promissory  or  covenant  engagements. 

It  is  further  objected,  against  this  argument,  that  God  is  said 
to  create  that  which  he  brings  into  a  new  and  better  state :  thus 
David  prays,  Create  in  me  a  clean  heart,  Psal.  li.  10,  and  God 
is  said  to  create  neiv  heavens,  and  a  new  earth,  and  to  create 
Jerusalem  a  rejoicing,  Isa.  Ixv.  17, 1 9. — As  to  the  case  of  David, 
it  is  plain,  his  fall  had  so  far  convinced  him  of  the  plague  of  his 
own  heart,  that  he  despairs  of  healing  it  himself,  and  therefore 
cries  to  God,  Create  in  me  a  clean  heart.  It  might  be  a  doubt 
with  him,  very  probably,  after  so  dreadful  a  backsliding,  whe- 
ther he  had  ever  been  truly  converted;  and  if  so  much  power, 
as  would  justify  the  expression,  was  necessary  for  his  recovery, 
we  may  easily  conclude  what  is  needful  for  the  renewing  of  a 
sinner,  wholly  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins. — As  for  the  other 
passage  mentioned,  what  difficulty  soever  may  attend  settling 
the  exact  meaning  of  it,  the  following  expressions  in  the  chap- 
ter, abundantly  warrant  the  use  of  the  metaphor;  for,  according 
to  the  prophet,  "  There  is  then  to  be  no  more  an  infant  of  days, 
nor  an  old  man  that  hath  not  filled  his  days,  for  the  child  shall 
die  an  hundred  years  old;  the  wolf  and  the  lamb  are  to  feed  to- 
gether, and  the  lion  to  eat  straw  like  a  bullock;"  events  alto- 
gether supernatural  and  miraculous.  As  to  the  Greek  fathers 
speaking  of  the  new  creature  as  a  change  for  the  better  only,  if 
it  should  be  allowed  that  this  is  their  sentiment,  I  do  not  see 
how  it  affects  the  argument;  for  the  question  is  not,  whether  the 
change  is  for  the  better,  but  what  power  is  necessary  to  it,  and 
TO  whom  it  is  to  be  referred,  to  God  or  the  creature. 

2.  Another  Scripture  representation  of  regeneration,  is  that 
of  our  being  quickened  by  the  great  God,  when  dead  in  si7is, 
Eph.  ii.  1 — 5.  And  what  the  power  is,  whereby  we  are  quick- 
ened, the  apostle  tells  us,  chap,  i,  18,  19,  "That  ye  may  Icnow 
what  is  the  exceeding  greatness  of  his  power  to  us-ward  who 
believe,  according  to  the  working  of  his  mighty  power,  which 
he  wrought  in  Christ,  when  he  raised  him  from  the  dead." 
Whatever  may  be  the  fact  the  apostle  had  in  view,  the  terms 
are  as  strong  and  expressive,  as  language  will  admit.  Great 
pains  are  taken  by  our  opponents,  in  expounding  this  place  of 
the  resurrection  of  the  body,  in  the  last  day,  which  they  allow 
to  be  a  work  of  almighty  power;  but  it  is  impossible  to  prove 
this  to  be  the  meaning  of  it,  because  there  is  not  a  word  of  the 
resurrection  of  the  saints  in  the  text.  The  natural  meaning  of 
the  place  is  evidently  this:  the  apostle  prays  that  God  would  en- 
lighten them  into  that  mystery  of  mercy,  the  work  of  faith  in 


OF   EFFICACIOUS    GRACE.  307 

their  sonls,  begun  and  carried  on  by  the  same  power,  which 
raised  his  Son  from  the  dead;  and  whereas  he  speaks  of  those 
who  did  beUeve,  it  is  to  acquaint  them,  that  faith,  in  the  exer- 
cise and  increase,  is  from  the  divine  power,  as  well  as  in  the 
first  principle. 

How  far  this  power  is  consistent  with  Scripture  exhortations 
and  persuasions,  will  be  considered  in  its  place. 

3.  We  are  said,  in  Scripture,  to  be  born  from  above,  to  be 
born  of  God,  and  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the.  ivill  of  the  flesh,  iior 
of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God.  In  regeneration,  the  agency  is 
removed  from  the  creature,  and  ascribed  to  the  great  Creator. 

To  this  it  is  objected,  that  we  are  said  to  be  "  begotten  by 
the  word  of  the  living  God,  and  that  faith  comes  by  hearing," 
and  the  apostle  tells  the  Corinthians,  "  he  begot  them  by  his 
gospel;"  which  must,  say  our  opponents,  be  understood  in  a 
way  of  moral  suasion,  and  not  in  that  supernatural,  all-power- 
ful way  we  contend  for.  To  this  we  reply,  that  though  "  faith 
comes  by  hearing,  yet  it  is  not  of  ourselves;  it  is  the  gift  of 
God."  Ministers  preach,  and  whilst  they  preach,  and  with  their 
preaching,  God  works,  and  so  it  is  that  men  are  turned  unto 
him;  otherwise  even  a  Paul  may  plant,  and  an  Apollos  water, 
but  there  will  be  no  increase;  for,  as  the  apostle  observes,  they 
are  only  ministers,  by  whom  we  believe :  "  Neither  is  he  that 
planteth  any  thing,  nor  he  that  watereth,  but  God  that  giveth 
the  increase."  So  that  we  conclude,  the  metaphors,  which  the 
Scripture  makes  use  of,  in  representing  the  renewing  of  a  sin- 
ner, carry  in  them  plain  marks  of  a  divine  interposure,  and  that 
in  a  way  of  infinite  and  almighty  power.  And  to  understand 
them  otherwise,  is  to  charge  the  Holy  Spirit  with  what  is  allow- 
ed to  be  a  blemish  in  all  writers,  the  using  of  words  without 
meaning,  or  of  figures  widely  distant  from,  and  disproportionate 
to  the  subject. 

H.  If  we  consider  the  Scripture  account  of  the  siyiner  before 
this  change  passes  upon  him,  it  will  serve  as  a  further  proof  of 
the  necessity  of  efficacious  grace,  in  our  being  born  again. 

1.  We  are  said  to  be  "  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,"  Eph.  ii.  1, 
Col.  ii.  13;  that  is,  by  reason  of  sin,  to  be  altogether  impotent  to 
that  which  is  good.  As  the  organs  of  the  body  at  death  cease 
to  perform  their  usual  functions,  so  the  unrenewed  sinner  is 
without  God  and  ivithout  Christ  iti  the  world;  he  is  lost  to  his 
duty,  and  estranged  from  every  thing  that  is  spiritually  good. 

To  this  it  is  objected,  that  common  convictions,  especially 
where  they  are  strong,  prove  that  the  sinner,  even  before  con- 
version, is  not  void  of  all  sense,  as  a  dead  body  is;  so  that  the 
argument,  according  to  us,  if  it  proves  any  thing,  proves,  say 
they,  too  much.  To  this  we  answer,  that  all  convictions  are 
originally  from  God,  and  the  sinner,  under  the  greatest  fear  of 
punishment,  may  have  no  apprehension  of  the  excellency  of  his 


308  OF   EFFICACIOUS    GRACE. 

duty,  nor  any  spiritual  desire  after  communion  with  God;  wit- 
ness Judas,  who,  though  he  had  a  hell  in  his  conscience,  was 
utterly  a  stranger  to  the  grace  of  God. 

It  is  furtiier  objected,  that  the  places  cited  concern  only  the 
Gentile  world,  held  under  the  government  of  Satan,  but  have 
no  relation  to  the  proselytes  of  justice,  much  less  to  the  Jew, 
and  least  of  all  to  the  baptized  Christian.  To  this  it  is  sufficient 
to  reply,  that  the  apostle  was  quite  of  another  mind,  or  he  would 
not  have  said,  "Among  whom  we  all  had  our  conversation  in 
times  past;"  and,  in  another  epistle,  where  he  is  professedly 
considering  the  difference  between  Jew  and  Gentile,  he  says: 
"What  then,  are  Ave  better  than  they?  no,  in  no  wise;  for  we 
have  before  proved  both  Jew  and  Gentile,  that  they  are  all 
under  sin,"  Rom.  iii.  9;  and  therefore  he  uses  that  phrase  to  the 
church  of  Corinth,  after  an  enumeration  of  the  greatest  sinners, 
"  Such  were  some  of  you,"  1  Cor.  vi.  20.  And  he  puts  himself 
into  the  number,  in  what  he  says  to  Titus:  "For  we  ourselves 
also  were  some  time  foolish,  disobedient,  deceived,  serving  divers 
lusts."  Now,  it  will  easily  be  granted,  that  the  apostle,  before 
his  conversion,  was  restrained  from  grosser  sins;  none  suppose 
that  he  ran  into  all  excess  of  riot,  but  had  escaped  the  pollu- 
tions which  were  in  the  world  through  lust;  and  if  that  is  allow- 
ed, it  will  be  difficult  to  assign  a  reason  why  he  should  thus  put 
himself  into  the  number  of  the  chief  of  sinners,  if  there  had  not 
been  something  common  to  them  all;  I  mean,  an  impotence  to 
good,  and  a  propensity  to  evil. 

2.  A  further  account,  which  the  Scripture  gives  us,  of  our 
condition  before  conversion,  is,  that  our  understanding  is  dark- 
ened; that  we  are  alienated  from  the  life  o/ Goo',  through  the 
ignorance  that  is  in  us,  because  of  the  blind)iess  of  our  hearts, 
Eph.  iv.  18;  yea,  we  are  said  to  be  darkiiess,  ver.  8.  And  the 
apostle  tells  us:  "The  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of 
the  Spirit  of  God,  for  they  are  foolishness  unto  him;  neither  can 
he  know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned,"  1  Cor. 
ii.  14;  so  that  if  we  are  made  wise  unto  salvation,  "  God,  who 
commanded  light  to  shine  out  of  darkness,"  must,  in  the  saixie 
way,  and  by  the  same  power,  "  enlighten  our  understandings, 
to  give  us  the  knowledge  of  his  glory,  as  it  shines  in  the  Person 
of  his  Son,"  2  Cor.  iv.  6.  Till  this  is  the  case,  the  gospel,  though 
in  itself  the  wisdom  of  God,  will  be  accounted  foolishness, 
1  Cor.  i.  23,  24. 

As  to  what  is  objected,  that  these  passages  only  describe  the 
case  of  the  wilfully  blind,  who  love  darkness  rather  than  light, 
we  answer,  they  are  evidently  delivered  in  too  general  terms 
to  admit  of  such  an  interpretation ;  yea,  we  are  expressly  told, 
"  There  is  none  righteous,  no,  not  one;  there  is  none  that  under- 
stands; there  is  none  that  seeks  after  God,"  Rom.  iii.  10,  11. 
3.  Another  argument  may  be  taken  from  our  Lord's  words: 


OF   EFFICACIOUS    GRACE.  309 

"  No  man  can  come  unto  me,  except  the  Father,  who  hath  sent 
me,  draw  Iiim,"  John  vi.  44.  By  coming  to  Christ,  we  under- 
stand receiving  him,  or  beUeving  in  him:  by  the  Father's  draw- 
i7}ff,  his  work  of  power  upon  tiie  heart  of  a  sinner,  when  he  is 
brought  to  Christ.  Now,  without  this,  says  our  Lord,  no  man 
can  come  unto  me;  not  the  wise  and  prudent,  the  learned  or 
ingenious,  any  more  than  the  ignorant  and  iUiterate,  the  obsti- 
nate and  rebellious:  the  event  is  alike  impossible  to  them  all; 
"  no  man  can  come  except  the  Father  draw  him." 

To  this  it  is  objected,  that,  if  this  is  the  case,  there  is  nothing 
praiseworthy  in  our  faith,  or  blameworthy  in  our  unbelief; 
since  when  God  draws,  there  is  no  resisting;  and  where  he  is 
not  pleased  to  do  it,  we  cannot  move,  in  a  spiritual  sense.  To 
this  we  answer:  it  is  as  true,  that  before  conversion,  we  will 
not,  as  that  we  cannot  come  to  Christ:  though  we  may  not  be 
condemned  for  a  mere  impossibility  of  believing,  yet  we  may 
very  justly,  for  strengthening  ourselves  in  our  prejudices  against 
Christ,  and  the  way  of  salvation  by  him.  That  the  Scripture 
expressly  tells  us,  faith  is  not  of  ourselves,  it  is  the  gift  of  God; 
and  yet  we  are  required  to  believe.  Nor  do  I  see  any  such 
contradiction  in  some  men's  being  judicially,  as  a  punishment 
for  their  sins,  shut  up  in  unbelief,  and  their  condemnation  for 
loving  darkness,  rather  than  light. 

Again,  it  is  objected,  that  this  drawing  of  the  Father  is  to  be 
understood  only  or  principally  of  God's  persuading,  and  prevail- 
ing upon  us  to  come  to  Christ,  by  the  consideration  of  the  mira- 
cles, or  mighty  works,  which  were  done  by  him,  as  an  evidence 
of  his  being  the  Messiah,  and  by  the  promise  of  eternal  life 
upon  our  coming.  To  this  we  answer,  that  supposing  (though 
we  can  by  no  means  allow  it)  this  were  the  genuine  sense  of 
the  place,  we  might  urge  it  as  an  argument  in  the  case  before 
us;  for  if  we  cannot,  but  as  taught  of  God,  consider  the  nature 
and  evidence  of  Christ's  miracles,  which  are  barely  facts,  sup- 
posed to  be  done  by  him,  in  confirmation  of  his  mission,  much 
less  can  we,  without  a  divine  interposure,  renounce  our  darling 
corruptions,  quit  our  most  beloved  iniquities,  and  heartily  em- 
brace Jesus,  as  our  Saviour  and  our  King.  In  short,  the  tree 
must  first  be  made  good,  before  it  can  produce  any  good  fruit; 
for  "  the  carnal  mind,"  whilst  it  continues  so,  "  is  not  subject  to 
the  law  of  God,  neither  indeed  can  be,"  Rom.  viii.  7. 

III.  Our  next  general  head  of  argument  is  taken  from  God's 
challenging  this  ivork  as  his  own,  speaking  of  it  as  performed 
by  him,  and  in  such  terms,  as  manifestly  exclude  the  creature's 
agency:  thus  we  read,  "  The  Lord  thy  God  will  circumcise  thine 
heart,  and  the  heart  of  thy  seed,  to  love  the  Lord  thy  God,  with 
all  thine  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,"  Deut.  xxx.  6.  This  is 
thus  explained  by  the  prophet  Ezekiel:  "  I  will  give  them  one 
heart,  and  I  will  put  a  new  Spirit  within  you,  and  I  will  take 


310  OF   EFFICACIOUS    GRACE. 

the  stony  heart  out  of  their  flesh,  and  give  them  a  heart  of  flesh, 
that  they  may  walk  in  my  statutes,"  Ezek.  xi.  19,  20,  A  Uke 
promise  we  have  in  these  words:  "Then  will  I  sprinkle  clean 
water  upon  you,  and  ye  shall  be  clean.  From  all  your  idols 
will  I  cleanse  you;  a  new  heart  also  will  I  give  you,  and  a  new 
spirit  will  I  put  within  you;  and  I  will  take  away  the  stony 
heart  out  of  your  flesh,  and  I  will  give  you  a  heart  of  flesh ;  and 
I  will  put  my  Spirit  within  you,  and  cause  you  to  walk  in  my 
statutes,"  Ezek,  xxxvi,  26 — 28,  And  so  the  prophet  Jeremiah, 
giving  an  account  of  the  new  covenant,  does  it  in  these  terms: 
"This  shall  be  the  covenant  that  I  will  make  with  the  house 
of  Israel;  after  those  days,  saith  the  Lord,  I  will  put  my  law  in 
their  inward  parts,  and  write  it  in  their  hearts;  and  I  will  be 
their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people,"  Jer.  xxxi.  33.  And 
more  fully  in  the  following  words:  "  I  will  give  them  one  heart, 
and  one  way,  that  they  may  fear  for  ever,"  Jer.  xxxii,  39. 
Now,  can  it  be  thought  that,  by  all  these  expressions,  God  in- 
tends no  more  than  that  he  will  assist  and  succeed  our  endea- 
vours to  renew  and  convert  ourselves?  Is  this  the  meaning  of 
his  putting  his  Spirit  within  us?  of  his  taking  the  stone  out  of 
the  heart,  and  giving  a  heart  of  flesh?  Why  does  he  promise 
so  often,  I  will  do  this  for  you,  if  the  work  were  divided  between 
him  and  us?  So  that,  according  to  the  language  of  the  Old 
Testament,  we  are  to  expect  renewing  grace  from  God,  as  his 
own  proper  work. 

To  this  it  is  objected,  that  the  passages  mentioned  out  of  Je- 
remiah and  Ezekiel,  refer  to  the  Jews  in  the  end  of  the  world, 
and  therefore  are  wrongly  produced  in  the  question  before  us. 
To  this  we  answer,  that  if  that  be  the  case,  it  proves,  however, 
their  conversion  will  be  of  God.  Besides,  these  promises  con- 
tain blessings,  which  are  inseparable  from  salvation,  and  what 
every  saint  is  in  the  experience  of. 

The  apostle,  in  his  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  chap.  viii.  8,  &c., 
quotes  them,  and  applies  them  to  Christ,  as  the  surety  of  this 
covenant,  and  so  uses  this  as  an  argument  of  the  superior  excel- 
lency of  the  gospel,  above  the  Jewish  dispensation.  That  the 
covenant  is  better,  established  upon  better  promises,  would 
have  been  foreign  to  this  design,  if  it  relates  only  to  the  reco- 
very of  the  Jews,  in  the  end  of  the  world. 

In  the  New  Testament  we  read,  that  God  opened  the  heart 
of  Lydia,  Acts  xvi,  14;  that  faith  is  not  of  ourselves,  it  is  his 
gift,  Eph,  ii,  8,  He  gives  it  to  some  to  believe;  he  must  draiu, 
or  there  will  be  no  corninff  to  Christ,  John  vi,  44.  Paul  preaches 
and  prays,  but  God  opened  Lydia's  heart.  He  must  prepare  the 
heart  for  the  seed,  and  cause  the  seed  to  take  root,  and  to  bring 
forth  fruit  to  his  glory:  and  therefore  the  apostle  distinguishes 
between  the  gospel,  and  the  power  that  renders  it  successful; 
"  Our  gospel  came  to  you,  not  in  word  only,  but  also  in  power, 


OF   EFFICACIOUS   GRACE.  311 

1  Thess.  i.  5.  Life  and  immortality  are,  indeed,  brought  to  light 
by  the  gospel;  but  God  only  can  make  it  unto  us  a  savour  of 
life  unto  life;  and  this  he  does,  when  he  makes  it  his  power 
unto  salvation.     But  to  proceed, 

IV.  Another  argument  for  the  efficacy  of  the  grace  of  God  in 
regeneration,  may  be  taken  from  this  consideration :  that  sup- 
posing infants  are  polluted  and  defiled^  in  consequence  of  what 
we  call  original  sin,  as  many  of  these  as  die  before  the  actual 
exercise  of  reason,  must  either  be  renewed  by  the  immediate 
hand  of  God,  or  be  excluded  from  salvation,  since  our  Lord  has 
told  us,  "Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  king- 
dom of  God,"  John  iii.  3;  nor  will  it  be  disputed,  that  without 
habitual  holiness,  at  least,  no  man  can  see  the  Lord.  As  for 
infants,  we  take  it  for  granted,  in  the  present  argument,  that  they 
are  conceived  in  sin,  and  shapen  in  iniquity ;  that  which  is 
horn  of  the  flesh,  is  flesh  ;  that  they  are,  by  reason  of  the  disobe- 
dience of  the  first  man,  sinners,  and  so  unworthy  of  and  unmeet 
for  the  heavenly  glory,  and  must  be  excluded  from  it,  unless 
washed  in  the  blood  of  Jesus,  and  sanctified  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 
To  suppose  them  all,  or  indeed  any  of  them,  to  perish,  is  to  be 
cruelly  wise  above  what  is  written;  and  to  imagine  they  are  so 
holy,  as  to  need  no  cleansing,  or  that  any  thing  defiled  can  enter 
into  heaven,  is  directly  flying  in  the  face  of  Scripture;  so  that 
though  we  are  not  told  positively  what  is  their  portion,  yet  we 
may  safely  determine  that  they  are  made  meet,  if  in  heaven,  for 
that  inheritance,  which  is  incorruptible  and  undefiled.  And,  if 
this  is  the  case,  we  cannot  suppose  they  contribute  any  thing  to 
it  themselves;  it  must  be  from  the  abundant  mercy  and  power- 
ful grace  of  a  compassionate  God.  Now,  can  it  be  thought  that 
persons  grown  to  years  of  maturity,  who  have  for  a  great  while 
accustomed  themselves  to  do  evil,  and  whose  vicious  habits  are 
hereby  confirmed  and  enlarged,  will  be  more  easily  wrought 
upon?  It  is  true,  they  have  some  degrees  of  reason  and  con- 
science; but  as  these  are  in  the  service  of  sin,  the  bias  will  be 
ever  to  evil,  till  it  is  altered  by  the  grace  of  God.  If  it  should 
be  said.  Secret  things  belong  to  God ;  and,  as  he  has  not  ex- 
pressly told  us  what  will  be  the  final  state  of  infants,  no  argu- 
ment can  be  fairly  drawn  from  premises,  which  are  in  them- 
selves uncertain:  we  answer,  no  more  is  intended  by  it,  than 
what  will  be  easily  granted  by  those  who  allow  the  doctrine  of 
original  sin :  and  where  this  is  denied,  we  agree  it  is  of  no  force. 

We  might  now  produce  some  eminent  instances  of  the  grace 
of  God,  in  the  renewing  of  sinners,  as  they  stand  recorded  in 
Scripture;  from  which  we  may  conclude,  that  in  their  case, 
however,  the  happy  change  was  from  God,  and  the  immediate 
effect  of  his  almighty  power.  Thus,  in  the  story  of  Zaccheus, 
it  does  not  appear  that  our  Lord  said  any  more  to  him  than  this, 
"Make  haste  and  come  down;  to-day  I  must  abide  at  thine 


312  OF    EFFICACIOUS    GRACE. 

house,"  Luke  xix.  Yet  presently  a  change  was  wrought  in  his 
soul,  and  the  fruits  of  it  appeared  in  an  ingenuous  confession  of 
his  former  iniquities,  and,  in  an  humble  resolution  to  pursue  the 
contrary  paths  of  justice  and  mercy.  Now,  what  can  this,  so 
great  and  sudden  an  alteration,  be  attributed  to,  but  the  power- 
ful influence  which  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  had  upon 
his  mind?  We  cannot  suppose  there  was  an  opportunity  for  a 
great  deal  of  discourse  or  reasoning  with  him;  but  if  there  was, 
we  may  easily  judge  how  far  words  alone  are  sufficient  to  en- 
gage a  rigorous  oppressor  in  acts  of  righteousness  and  mercy; 
so  that,  from  the  effects,  ^ye  may  judge  of  the  cause,  and  con- 
clude, that  so  great  a  change  could  not  have  been  made  at  once 
upon  such  a  heart,  but  by  the  same  power  whereby  God  is  able 
to  subdue  all  things  to  himself.  Another  instance,  which  might 
be  mentioned,  is  that  of  Saul,  who  was  not  proselyted  to  Chris- 
tianity under  a  sermon,  or  at  a  religious  conference.  Acts  ix., 
but  when  his  mind  was  under  the  strongest  and  most  settled, 
prejudice  against  it;  when  his  zeal  in  persecuting  the  church  was 
heightened  into  a  kind  of  fury  or  madness :  under  these  unprom- 
ising circumstances,  he  is  made  to  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of 
God,  and  live:  and,  in  the  humble  language  of  a  disciple,  to  say, 
"  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do?"  instead  of  going  on,  as 
he  had  designed,  in  making  havoc  of  the  church.  We  might 
add  the  case  of  the  thief  on  the  cross,  who  either  went  to  heaven 
without  holiness,  or  received  it  immediately  from  that  Jesus, 
who  said  to  him,  "  This  day  thou  shalt  be  with  me  in  paradise," 
Luke  xxii,  39,  &c.  If  it  is  said.  These  are  extraordinary  cases; 
we  answer,  Whatever  difference  there  may  be  in  the  circum- 
stances of  sinners,  the  power  is  the  same  in  the  renewing  of 
them  all;  for  the  enmity,  which  is  in  every  sinner's  heart  against 
Christ  and  holiness,  can  only  be  removed  by  an  act  of  omnipo- 
tence. 


SERMON  n. 

Philtppians,  ii.  13. — It  is  God  who  worketh  in  you,  both  to  will  and  to  do,  of  his 
own  good  pleasure. 

The  doctrine  which  we  endeavoured  to  state  and  establish,  in 
the  preceding  discourse,  was  to  this  effect:  that  when  a  sinner 
is  born  again,  there  is  a  mighty  change  wrought  in  his  soul,  by 
the  efficacious  working  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  His  being  quick- 
ened, and  made  spiritually  alive,  is  the  effect  of  God's  power, 
which  works  in  him,  as  well  to  will  as  to  do,  of  his  own  good 
pleasure.  This  we  attempted  to  prove  from  the  Scripture  re- 
presentations of  the  work  itself,  in  which  it  is  called  a  new  crea- 
tion, a  resurrection,  and  a  being  born  again;  terms  expressive 
of  power;  in  the  exertion  of  which  the  Almighty  is,  and  cannot 


OF   EFFICACIOUS    GRACE.  31^ 

but  be  alone,  and  the  creature  manifestly  passive.  Again,  we 
observed,  from  the  said  infallible  oracles,  that  the  state  of  man 
before  this  change  passes  upon  him,  is  such,  as  will  by  no  means 
admit  of  the  supposition  of  an  ability  to  renew  himself,  since  he 
is  described  as  "  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  having  his  under- 
standing darkened,  being  alienated  from  the  life  of  God,  through 
the  ignorance  that  is  in  him,  because  of  the  blindness  of  his 
heart;"  inasmuch  as  he  is  said  to  be  darkness  itself;  and  it  is 
affirmed  of  him,  that  he  "receives  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit 
of  God,  but  accounts  them  foolishness."  On  these  accounts, 
our  Lord  might  well  say,  "  That  no  man  can  come  unto  me, 
except  the  Father,  who  hath  sent  me,  draw  him."  Further, 
we  observed,  that  God  challenges  this  work  as  his  own,  and 
speaks  of  it  in  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  as  brought  about 
by  his  power;  and  the  promises  which  he  has  made  concerning 
it,  conclude  him  to  be  equal  to  the  work,  as  well  as  gracious  to 
his  chosen;  and  are  as  entirely  silent,  as  to  the  agency,  as  they 
exclude  and  set  aside  the  merit,  of  the  creature.  Moreover, 
we  hinted  that  this  must  be  the  case  with  infants  dying  before 
the  exercise  of  reason,  supposing  them  to  be  under  the  pollution 
of  original  sin,  unless  we  exclude  them  all  from  salvation.  If 
they  are  regenerated,  it  cannot  be  in  the  way  of  moral  suasion, 
but  of  internal  and  almighty  efficacy. 

We  now  proceed  to  another  consideration,  to  prove  the  neces- 
sity of  efficacious  grace,  in  the  renewing  of  a  sinner;  and  that 
may  be  taken, 

V.  From  the  difficulty  of  the  work,  as  it  consists  in  conquer- 
ing the  strongest  prejudices,  mortifying  the  most  corrupt  habits, 
and  in  the  implanting  of  a  principle  of  grace  and  holiness  to 
which  the  sinner  is  entirely  averse;  and,  in  opposition  to  which, 
Satan,  who  maintains  the  throne  in  his  heart,  uses  his  utmost  en- 
deavours. There  is  a  greater  distance  between  the  terms,  sin 
and  holiness,  corruplion  and,^r«ce,  than  betwixt  those  of  some- 
thing and  nothing.  In  creation,  something  is  formed  out  of  no- 
thing; but  in  regeneration,  (as  one  strongly  expresses  it,)  hell  is 
changed  into  heaven.  In  creation  there  is  no  assistance,  but  then 
there  is  no  opposition ;  but  regeneration  is  like  the  stemming  of 
a  rapid  stream,  and  turning  it  into  a  contrary  course;  in  which, 
as  there  is  nothing  to  help,  so  there  is  every  thing  to  hinder. 
The  sinner  is  not  barely  destitute  of  the  divine  image,  and  with- 
out strength  for  the  performance  of  what  is  good,  but  "  every 
imagination  of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart,  is  evil  continually," 
Gen,  vi,  5.  He  is  so  far  from  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  any 
concern  about  communion  with  him,  that  the  language  of  his 
heart  unto  God  is,  "  Depart  from  me,  I  desire  not  the  knowledge 
of  thy  ways.  What  is  the  Almighty  that  I  should  serve  him? 
and  what  profit  should  I  have  if  I  pray  unto  him?"  Job.  xxi.  14. 
And,  whilst  he  is  wilfully  pursuing  a  course  of  rebellion,  and 

40 


314  OF   EFFICACIOUS    GRACE. 

Strengthening  and  enlarging  his  vicious  habits,  we  may  well 
ask,  with  the  prophet,  "  Can  the  Ethiopian  change  his  skin,  or 
the  leopard  his  spots?"  Then,  and  not  till  then,  may  the  sin- 
ner, "who  has  been  accustomed  to  do  evil,  learn  to  do  well," 
Jer.  xiii.  23.  Can  any  created  finite  power,  at  once,  in  a  mo- 
ment, change  the  fierceness  of  a  devouring  lion  into  the  meek- 
ness of  a  lamb?  If  this  calls  for  omnipotence,  how  much  more 
to  reduce  the  stout-hearted  sinner,  who  is  far  from  righteousness, 
to  the  obedience  of  faith,  and  a  delight  in  the  law  of  the  Lord, 
after  the  inward  man.  Go  and  try  the  experiment,  treat  with 
the  rebel,  who,  for  a  course  of  years,  has  had  pleasure  in  un- 
righteousness, whose  heart  is  in  league  with  Satan,  and  strongly 
attached  to  sin ;  use  the  most  moving  and  persuasive  arguments 
to  convince  him  of  the  folly  of  his  way:  see  whether  he  will  be 
brought  by  all  your  reasoning,  to  quit  his  darling  lusts,  and  walk 
in  the  ways  of  the  Lord;  no,  after  all  your  advice,  though  min- 
gled with  tears,  he  loves  his  idols,  and  after  them  will  he  go. 
Satan  has  such  an  interest  in  the  hearts  of  the  children  of  diso- 
bedience ;  he  leads  them  captive  to  that  degree,  that  none  but  the 
Almighty  can  dispossess  him,  and  break  the  chain:  and  there- 
fore, when  the  apostle  is  speaking  of  this  mercy,  he  uses  a  word 
strongly  expressive  of  power;  "  Giving  thanks  unto  the  Father, 
who  hath  made  us  meet  to  be  partakers  of  the  inheritance  of  the 
saints  in  light:  who  hath  delivered  us  from  the  power  of  dark- 
ness," hath  snatched  us  out  of  the  power  or  hand  of  the  devil, 
"and  translated  us  into  the  kingdom  of  his  dear  Son,"  Col.  1. 
12,  13. 

An  excellent  and  most  judicious  divine  has  a  passage  pertinent 
to  our  purpose,  in  his  discourse  on  Regeneration  :  "  The  new 
birth,"  says  he,  "  is  a  change  of  nature ;  of  a  nature,  where  there 
was  as  little  of  spiritual  good,  as  there  was  of  being  in  nothing 
before  the  creation.  It  is  the  change  of  a  stone  into  flesh,  of  a 
heart,  that,  like  a  stone,  has  hardness  and  settledness  of  sinful 
parts,  a  strong  resistance  against  any  instrument,  an  incorpora- 
tion of  sin  and  lust  with  its  very  nature;  where  the  heart  and 
sin,  self  and  sin,  are  cordially  one  and  the  same.  None  can 
change  such  a  nature  but  the  God  of  all  grace.  No  man  can 
change  the  nature  of  the  meanest  creature  in  the  world :  Now, 
to  see  a  lump  of  vice  become  the  model  of  virtue;  him  that  drank 
in  iniquity  like  water,  to  thirst  after  righteousness,  to  crucify  his 
darling  flesh,  to  be  weary  of  the  poison  he  loved,  for  the  purity 
he  hated,  speaks  a  supernatural  grace,  transcendently  attractive, 
and  powerfully  operative."  So  that  as  he  somewhere  else  ob- 
serves, "  We  have  no  reason  to  wonder  that  creation  is  only 
ascribed  to  the  hand  of  God,  when,  in  regeneration,  his  arm  is 
supposed  to  be  revealed."     But  to  proceed, 

VI.  If  we  consider  the  difl'erent  success  of  the  gospel,  as  dis- 
pensed by  several  persons,  or  by  the  same  person,  at  diflerent 


OF    EFFICACIOUS    GRACE.  315 

times,  it  will  be  evident  that  there  must  be  the  power  of  God 
attending  it,  or  it  will  not  be  successful  to  salvation,  or  prove  a 
savour  of  life  unto  life.  Peter's  hearers,  and  those  to  whom 
Stephen  ministered,  appear  to  be  equally  ignorant  of  and  alike 
prejudiced  against  the  gospel;  the  apostles  deliver  themselves 
with  the  same  plainness  and  faithfulness,  upon  the  subject  of 
the  guilt  contracted,  by  shedding  the  innocent  blood  of  the  Son 
of  God :  three  thousand  are  converted,  baptized,  and  added  to 
the  church,  from  a  single  sermon,  delivered  by  Peter;  whereas 
Stephen's  hearers  blaspheme  and  stone  him.  Paul  again  finds 
hearts  and  houses  open  to  him,  in  one  city,  and  is  obliged  to 
escape  for  his  life  in  another. 

Now,  how  can  this  be  accounted  for,  but  upon  the  apostle's 
principle,  "  Neither  is  he  that  planteth  any  thing,  nor  he  that 
watereth,  but  God  that  gives  the  increase?"  Nay,  how  common 
is  it  for  the  same  person,  who  has,  perhaps,  for  years,  sat  un- 
moved under  the  ministry  of  a  learned,  faithful  and  affectionate 
preacher,  at  length  in  the  day  of  God's  power,  under  means  far 
less  likely  to  answer  the  end,  to  be  awakened,  convinced,  and 
renewed  ?  And  are  there  not  many  instances  of  persons,  of  the 
same  family,  education,  and  advantages,  attending  the  same 
means,  and  one  is  taken,  and  he  perhaps  the  most  profane  or 
obstinate,  and  the  rest  left  to  a  bare  outside  profession,  or  an 
hypocritical  formality?  Why  should  the  same  gospel  in  one 
hand,  thus  run  and  be  glorified;  and,  in  another,  no  less  valua- 
ble, be  a  savour  of  death  unto  death?  Why  should  the  same 
preacher,  at  one  time,  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  to  his  satis- 
faction: at  another  time  have  occasion  to  complain,  Who  has 
believed  our  report  7  If  the  weapons  of  our  warfare  were  mighty 
in  themselves,  why  not  equally,  and  at  all  times  successful  ?  But 
the  event  makes  it  evident,  they  are  only  so  through  God;  and 
when  his  power  is  put  forth,  he  can  easily,  and  he  only  can,  bring 
down  every  high  thought  and  imagination,  and  reduce  the  stub- 
born hearts  of  rebellious  sinners  to  a  subjection  to  himself. 

VII.  Another  argument  for  the  efficiency  of  the  grace  of  God 
in  regeneration,  may  be  taken  from  the  consideration  of  the 
concern  which  God  has  in  the  whole  world.  If  we  reflect  on  the 
various  parts  of  the  creation,  we  shall  find,  that,  in  the  vegetable, 
animal,  rational,  and  intellectual  world,  all  first  or  natural  princi- 
ples are  derived  from  God ;  and  the  actual  exercise  of  those  prin- 
ciples, whatever  concurrent  circumstances  may  attend,  is  con- 
stantly under  his  providential  influence.  And  is  this  the  case  in 
universal  nature?  And  can  we  suppose  that  in  regeneration,  one 
of  the  noblest  works  of  God,  he  is  left  out  as  having  little  or  no 
concern?  How  strange,  how  unaccountable,  would  this  be? 

Our  natural  philosophers  readily  allow,  that  every  thing  that 
is  necessary  for  the  growth  and  improvement  of  vegetables,  is 
from  God;  that  he,  as  the  great  Author  of  nature,  has  given 


316  OF   EFFICACIOUS   GRACE. 

it  to  the  seed,  to  receive  the  fattening  influence  of  the  earth,  tlie 
moisture  of  the  rain,  and  the  enlivening  genial  rays  of  the  sun: 
nor  will  they  dispute  the  sun  itself  had  i^ever  been  what  it  now 
is,  the  great  fountain  of  light  and  heat  to  the  universe,  but  by 
the  will  and  power  of  the  Creator.  They  will  tell  you  the  rain 
descends  at  his  appointment,  and  that  he  orders  and  determines 
its  extent  and  usefulness;  that  there  is  an  equal  display  of  his 
power,  wisdom,  and  goodness,  in  the  growth  of  the  grass,  in  the 
flourishing  of  plants,  and  the  increase  of  corn:  all  is  from  him, 
and  under  the  immediate  influence  of  his  providence.  Moreover, 
in  the  animal  world,  or  among  the  beasts  of  the  field,  the  fowls 
of  the  air,  or  the  fish  in  the  sea,  they  will  allow  a  principle  of 
life  and  motion  is  from  God,  and  the  actual  exercise  of  it  in  a  de- 
pendence upon  him.  What  we  call  sometimes  instinct,  or  nature 
in  them,  is  confessedly  not  of  themselves,  but  from  him,  who 
hath  appointed  their  situation  in  the  order  of  creatures,  and  fur- 
nished them  with  all  their  powers,  sensations,  and  appetites ; 
whence  they  are  directed  to  collect  their  proper  food,  and  reject 
what  would  be  hurtful  and  destructive  to  them.  And  none  but 
an  atheistic  sceptic  will  deny,  but  that,  in  the  rational  world,  we 
have  our  souls,  with  all  their  capacities  of  reasoning,  reflection, 
judgment,  and  memory,  from  God;  that  he  made  us  by  his 
power,  and  continues  us  by  his  providence,  wiser  than  the  beasts 
of  the  field,  and  of  more  understanding  than  the  fowls  of  the  air: 
and  who  will  not  allow,  that  the  angels,  creatures  of  the  highest 
order,  have  all  their  intellectual  powers  from  God?  Now,  shall 
we  admit  that  every  creature  has  its  being  from,  and  lives,  and 
moves,  and  acts  in  a  dependence  upon  the  glorious  Creator;  and 
suppose  that  the  saint  receives  a  principle  of  grace  from  him- 
self, and  continues  a  believer,  by  the  strength  of  his  own  reason- 
ing, and  the  vigour  and  constancy  of  his  own  resolution  ?  Is  it 
from  God  that  I  am  a  reasonable  thinking  creature?  and  from 
myself  that  I  am  a  Christian,  holy  and  spiritual  ?  Am  I  not  in- 
sufficient for  the  least  action  in  common  life,  but  as  upheld  by  his 
power,  and  under  the  influence  of  his  providence?  And  will  it 
be  said,  I  can  renew  myself,  and  cleave  to  the  Lord,  with  full 
purpose  of  heart,  by  my  own  strength  ?  What  is  this  but  to  allow 
a  dependence  in  the  less,  and  to  deny  it  in  the  greater?  What 
Adam  possessed  in  paradise,  as  to  the  perfection  of  his  nature, 
the  felicity  he  enjoyed,  and  his  power  to  serve,  worship,  and 
adore  the  Creator,  he  had  confessedly  from  Him  who  made  him, 
after  his  own  image.  Now,  if  the  first  impress  of  the  divine 
likeness  on  his  soul,  was  the  produce  of  God's  wisdom  and 
power,  certainly  the  restoring  that  image,  when  lost  or  impaired, 
can  be  no  less  the  work  of  tlie  Almighty.  If  the  care  and  skill 
of  an  artificer  is  requisite  to  the  first  making  of  a  machine,  or 
any  curious  piece  of  work,  it  must  be  equally  necessary  to  the 
repair  of  it,  when  its  principal  springs  are  broken,  and  every  thing 
out  of  order.     But  we  go  oir, 


OF   EFFICACIOUS   GRACE.  317 

VTIT.  To  consider  the  s^ross  absurdities  which  manifestly 
attend  the  denying  tlie  efficacy  of  the  grace  of  God  in  regene- 
ration; as, 

1,  This  would  be  to  furnish  Christians  with  an  easy  and 
ready  answer  to  that  question  of  the  apostle;  "Who  made  thee 
to  differ  from  another?  What  hast  thou,  that  thou  didst  not 
receive?  Now,  if  thou  didst  receive  it,  why  dost  thou  glory,  as 
if  thou  hadst  not  received  it?"  1  Cor.  iv.  7.  Such  a  one  might 
boldly  relpy,  upon  the  scheme  of  our  opponents,  My  own  reflec- 
tion and  judgment;  my  reason  and  choice  made  me  to  ditfer: 
the  means  were,  indeed,  the  same,  what  I  enjoyed  in  common 
with  others;  but  the  success  was  the  effect  of  my  own  care, 
diligence,  and  attention,  whilst  they  missed  of  it  through  their 
own  heedlessness  and  carnality.  It  is  objected  to  this,  that  the 
apostle  is  here  speaking  of  gifts  only,  and  of  such  as  were  mira- 
culously and  immediately  infused,  without  human  industry,  and 
conferred  on  the  primitive  Christians,  without  any  co-operation 
of  their  own  faculties:  so  that  as  this  kind  of  ministration  of  the 
Spirit  has,  for  a  while  ceased  in  the  church,  an  argument  can- 
not fairly  be  drawn  from  it,  in  our  inquiries  about  the  more 
standing  and  ordinary  dispensations  of  it.  To  this  we  answer, 
that,  admitting  the  apostle  is  speaking  of  gifts,  renewing  grace 
is  undoubtedly  one  of  those  gifts,  and  not  the  least  valuable  of 
them,  which  came  down  from  the  Father  of  lights;  for  when 
we  are  born  again,  it  is  not  of  "the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the 
will  of  man,  but  of  God;"  and  we  are  no  more  to  ascribe  to 
our  own  agency  the  difference  between  us  and  others  in  the 
gifts  of  grace,  than  the  apostles  or  primitive  Christians  could  in 
the  miraculous  endowments  which  were  bestowed  upon  them. 
Moreover,  is  it  not  evident  that  the  difference  between  a  sinner 
and  a  saint  is  a  great  deal  more,  both  in  the  nature  and  conse- 
quence of  it,  than  between  a  person  possessed  of  gifts,  and  one 
who  is  destitute  of  them?  Gifts  are  useful  to  others,  but  grace 
prepares  for  heaven;  gifts  may  obtain  and  enlarge  a  reputation 
among  men,  but  grace  only  disposes  for  an  intimacy  with  God 
here,  and  the  enjoyment  of  him  hereafter.  Is  it  God  who  makes 
the  difference  in  the  one,  and  man  in  the  other  ?  The  apostle 
determines  how  it  was  in  his  own  case;  "And  last  of  all,"  says 
he,  speaking  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  "  he  was  seen  of  me,  as 
one  born  out  of  due  time;  for  I  am  the  least  of  the  apostles,  and 
am  not  meet  to  be  called  an  apostle,  because  I  persecuted  the 
church  of  God;  but  by  the  grace  of  God  I  am  what  I  am." 
1  Cor.  XV.  8 — 10.  The  alteration  is  marvellous,  the  change  sur- 
prising, from  an  enemy  to  a  friend,  from  a  persecutor  to  a 
preacher:  but  I  ascribe  it  not  to  myself,  but  to  the  grace  of 
God;  and  this  grace,  which  was  bestowed  upon  me,  was  not 
in  vain:  so  far  from  it,  that  under  its  influence,  "I  laboured 
more  abundantly  than  they  all."     And  so  fearful  was  he,  lest 


318  OF   EFFICACIOUS   GRACE. 

God  should  not  have  all  the  glory,  that  he  adds,  "Yet  not  I,  but 
the  grace  of  God,  which  was  with  me." 

2.  Another  absurdity  which  attends  the  denying  of  the  grace 
of  God  in  regeneration,  is  its  contradicting  and  opposing  the 
general  design  of  God  in  salvation,  which  is,  that  no  flesh  should 
glory  in  his  sight,  but  that  he  who  glorieth,  should  glory  in  the 
Lord.  That  doctrine  which  gives  the  creature  room  to  boast, 
that  his  own  arm,  either  in  the  whole  or  in  part,  brought  him 
salvation,  cannot  be  of  God.  If  our  will  is  to  give  the  turning 
point,  and  the  balance  is  placed  in  our  own  hands;  and,  after 
all  the  provision  which  God  hath  made,  and  the  pains  he  is 
supposed  to  be  at,  the  creature  is  himself  to  determine  the  mat- 
ter by  his  own  choice  or  refusal ;  to  be  sure,  the  honour  ought 
to  go  with  the  agency.  And  of  this  our  opponents  seem  to  be 
so  sensible,  that  some  of  them  allow,  that  it  is  of  preventing 
grace  that  we  will  and  choose  what  is  good,  and  refuse  what  is 
evil ;  of  assisting  grace,  that  we  are  enabled  to  perform  that 
will,  and  persist  in  that  choice ;  and  of  mercy,  when  we  have 
done  all,  that  we  are  accepted;  a  way  of  expressing  themselves, 
not  a  little  contradictory  to  their  scheme,  and  which,  at  other 
times,  they  are  far  from  being  fond  of.  It  is  objected,  that 
glorying,  or  boasting,  in  some  instances,  is  not  unlawful:  that 
the  apostle  was  found  in  the  practice  himself,  and  declares,  with 
a  good  deal  of  vehemency,  that,  "It  were  better  he  should  die, 
than  any  man  make  void  his  glorying;"  and  that  elsewhere  he 
speaks  of  rejoicing  or  boasting  in  the  testimony  of  a  good  con- 
science. To  this  we  answer;  it  must  be  proved,  before  the 
objection  will  be  of  any  force,  that  the  apostle  is  speaking  in 
those  places  of  the  grace  of  God  in  regeneration;  whereas,  in 
the  one,  he  is  speaking  of  the  high  opinion  he  had  of  the  gos- 
pel, in  opposition  to  the  contempt  it  met  with  from  an  ungodly 
world;  and  in  the  other,  of  the  fruits,  not  of  the  principle  of 
grace ;  which  fruits  he  ascribes  to  a  divine  influence,  when  he 
says,  "Not  by  fleshly  wisdom,  but  by  the  grace  of  God,"  he 
and  the  rest  of  the  saints  had  their  conversation  in  the  world: 
and  where  is  the  inconsistency  of  this  with  that  general  direc- 
tion ;  "Let  not  the  wise  man  glory  in  his  wisdom,  nor  let  the 
mighty  man  glory  in  his  might;  let  not  the  rich  man  glory  in 
his  riches;  but  let  him  that  glorieth,  glory  in  this,  that  he  under- 
standeth  and  knoweth  me,  that  I  am  the  Lord,  which  exercise 
loving  kindness,  judgment  and  righteousness  in  the  earth;  for 
in  these  things  I  delight,  saith  the  Lord?"  Jer.  ix.  23,  24. 

3.  Another  absurdity  arising  from  the  supposition  of  the  crea- 
ture's agency,  in  his  own  regeneration,  is,  that  it  would  then  be 
uncertain  whether  any  would  be  renewed  at  all;  very  possible 
that  none  might,  and,  all  circumstances  considered,  absolutely 
impossible  that  any  should.  Suppose  the  best  external  evidence 
were  produced,  and  the  most  weighty  arguments  made  use  of, 


OF   EFFICACIOUS   GRACE.  319 

if  the  issue  depends  upon  the  will  of  man,  and  that  will  be  as 
hable  to  refuse  as  to  choose,  the  event  must  needs  be  uncertain 
till  the  creature  has  determined;  nor  could  it  be  certainly  known, 
were  this  the  case,  wliether  any  one  would  determine  right:  but, 
if  the  Scripture  account  of  man,  before  conversion,  may  be  de- 
pended upon,  if  he  is  dead  in  trespasses,  darkness,  and  enmity 
against  God;  his  will,  being  averse  to  good,  and  prone  to  evil, 
would  necessarily  determine  in  favour  of  sin,  and  in  a  rejection 
of  holiness.  One  would  have  thought,  that  when  the  apostle 
Paul  came  to  Athens,  the  seat  of  learning,  the  wise  men  of  that 
place  would  have  patiently  heard  what  he  had  to  offer,  and  duly 
weighed  and  considered  the  nature  and  importance  of  his  doc- 
trine, and  that  at  least  the  major  part  of  them  would  have  em- 
braced the  gospel  evidence,  which  attended  it.  But,  instead  of 
this,  we  find  that  he  met  with  more  success  in  Corinth,  a  city 
remarkably  dissolute  and  wicked,  than  he  did  among  the  learn- 
ed philosophers  of  Athens;  and,  upon  his  attempt  to  reclaim 
the  Athenians  from  their  gross  superstition  and  idolatry,  they 
mocked  and  derided  him,  as  a  base  fellow,  and  rejected  the  doc- 
trine of  salvation  as  foolish  and  irrational.  So  true  is  it  what 
our  Lord  said,  that  "  these  things  are  hid  from  the  wise  and 
prudent,  and  revealed  unto  babes;  neither  can  flesh  or  blood 
reveal  them  to  us,  but  our  Father  who  is  in  heaven." 

We  shall  now  inquire  whether  the  grace  of  God,  in  the  renew- 
ing of  a  sinner,  may  be  frustrated,  or  set  aside,  by  the  opposition 
of  the  creature.  And  here  we  are  to  remember  it  is  God's  work, 
and  therefore  must  be  perfect,  since  he  can  and  will  do  all  his 
pleasure.  To  say  that  he  cannot,  though  he  would,  change  the 
sinner's  heart,  by  an  immediate  act  of  his  own  power,  is  to 
challenge  his  omnipotence :  so  that  the  question  is  not  whether 
God  can  do  this,  or  no ;  but  whether  it  is  worthy  of  him,  and 
how  far  it  is  really  the  case.     And  this  may  be  determined, 

(I.)  From  the  inviolable  and  inseparable  connexion  of  the 
several  parts  of  that  golden  chain  mentioned  by  the  apostle: 
"  For  whom  he  did  foreknow,  he  also  did  predestinate  to  be 
conformed  to  the  image  of  his  Son.  Moreover,  whom  he  did 
predestinate,  them  he  also  called;  and  whom  he  called,  them  he 
also  justified;  and  whom  he  justified,  them  he  also  glorified," 
Rom.  viii.  29,  30;  that  is,  as  many  as  are  ordained  unto  eternal 
life,  either  are,  or  shall  be  called  and  sanctified  by  the  grace  of 
God,  as  their  meetness  for  it,  and  be  justified  by  the  righteous- 
ness of  Christ,  as  their  title  to  it,  as  well  as,  at  length,  be  glori- 
fied in  the  enjoyment  of  it:  accordingly  we  are  expressly  said 
"  to  be  chosen  unto  holiness,"  Eph.  i.  4.  Now,  if  the  purpose 
of  God,  in  election,  is  supposed  to  stand,  then  those  whom  he 
thus  loved,  with  an  everlasting  love,  shall  be  effectually  drawn 
by  the  cords  of  it,  agreeably  to  what  our  Lord  says:  "All  that 


320  OF   EFFICACIOTTS   GRACE. 

the  Father  giveth  me,  shall  come  unto  me ;  and  him  that  cometh, 
I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 

(2.)  Tliis  may  be  further  argued,  from  the  purchase  which 
our  Lord,  by  the  merit  of  his  obedience  and  death,  has  made  of 
his  people,  with  respect  to  their  present  safety  and  future  felicity. 
The  Scripture  represents  him  not  only  as  redeeming  them  from 
wrath,  when  he  died  for  their  offences,  but  as  purchasing  them 
to  himself,  as  having  a  fulness  of  grace  for  their  supply  in  this 
world,  and  as  having  obtained  a  glorious  inheritance  for  them 
in  the  other.  Accordingly,  in  the  prospect  of  his  approaching 
death,  he  prays,  first,  that  "  they  might  be  sanctified  through  the 
truth,  and  be  kept  from  the  evil  one;"  and  then  adds,  "Father, 
I  will  that  they  also  whom  thou  hast  given  me  may  be  with  me 
where  I  am,  that  they  may  behold  the  glory  which  thou  hast 
given  me,"  John  xvii.  17,  IS.  Grace  and  glory  are,  indeed, 
blessings  altogether  unmerited  by  the  saint;  but  they  are  due 
to  his  surety,  upon  an  engagement  on  the  Father's  part  in  the 
counsel  of  peace  to  the  Son,  that  if  he  would  make  his  soul  an 
offering  for  sin,  he  should  have  a  seed  to  serve  him,  and  see  of 
the  travail  of  his  soul  to  his  satisfaction.  Now,  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  having  done  his  part  to  the  abundant  satisfaction  of  the 
Father,  which  was  declared  in  his  resurrection  and  session  at 
his  right  hand;  it  would  be  unfaithful  in  the  Father,  and  con- 
trary to  mutual  stipulations,  if  any  for  whom  he  died  should  fall 
short  of  eternal  life.  And  this  must  be  the  case,  if  any  of  these 
are  supposed  fully  and  finally  to  resist  the  grace  of  God.    But, 

(3.)  We  may  consider  God's  chosen  people,  as  committed  to 
Christ,  as  his  charge  and  trust,  for  which  he  is  accountable  to 
the  Father;  and  accordingly  he  speaks  of  that  part  of  them  who 
were  as  yet  uncalled,  as  his  other  sheep,  whom  he  must  bring 
in,  and  who  should  hear  his  voice,  John  x.  16.  Other  sheep  I 
have,  that  is,  I  have  their  names  in  the  book  of  life,  their  per- 
sons within  the  view  of  mine  omniscience;  these  I  must  bring 
in;  there  is  a  necessity  laid  upon  me;  not  on  their  part,  but  as 
I  would  approve  myself  to  Him,  who  appointed  me.  It  would 
be  greatly  inglorious  to  the  Mediator,  should  he,  when  giving 
up  his  accounts  to  the  Father,  say,  here  are  some  only  of  the 
children  whom  thou  hast  given  me;  or,  some  of  these,  after  all 
the  pains  I  have  been  at,  are  yet  unrenewed,  and  so  unfit  for 
eternal  life.     Besides, 

(4.)  If  the  soul  is  passive  in  the  implanting  the  principle  of 
grace,  as  we  have  endeavoured  to  prove,  then  there  can  be  no 
resistance  in  regeneration.  Whatever  opposition  may  be  made 
by  the  soul  to  common  convictions  before  regeneration,  or  what 
conflict  soever  between  flesh  and  spirit  afterwards,  yet  we  may, 
with  the  apostle,  be  confident,  that  where  the  work  is  begun,  it 
shall  be  carried  on ;  where  the  arm  of  the  Lord  is  revealed,  the 


OF   EFFICACIOUS   GRACE.  321 

success  will  be  answerable :  so  that  we  conclude,  that  God,  in 
the  renewing  of  a  sinner,  works  so  as  none  can  hinder:  otherwise 
he  might  be  disappointed  of  his  purpose,  fail  in  his  promise  to 
his  Son,  or  be  overcome  by  the  creature,  in  the  exertion  of  the 
exceeding  greatness  of  his  power ;  either  of  which  is  unwor- 
thy of  him,  who  is  a  God  of  truth,  and  whose  arm  is  almighty. 

Having  thus  established  the  doctrine  proposed,  we  shall  now 
attend  to  some  of  the  principal  objections  which  are  advanced 
against  it;  such  as, 

1.  It  is  said,  by  the  opponents  of  efficacious  grace,  that  God 
hath  given  sufficient  grace  to  all  men,  upon  the  due  improve- 
ment of  which  they  may  be  saved,  if  it  is  not  their  own  fault; 
and  to  assert  the  contrary,  say  they,  is  to  wrong  the  fountain  of 
goodness,  and  to  represent  him  as  a  cruel,  severe,  and  harsh 
Being,  and  so  to  make  him  the  object  of  our  dread  and  hatred, 
rather  than  of  our  love  and  reverence :  and  if  all  men  have 
sufficient  grace,  what  necessity  for  this  mighty  power  of  God, 
in  the  conversion  of  a  sinner  ?  And,  to  prove  this,  they  quote 
these  words :  "  What  could  have  been  done  more  to  my  vine- 
yard, that  I  have  not  done  in  it ;  wherefore,  when  I  looked  it 
should  bring  forth  grapes,  brought  it  forth  wild  grapes?"  Isa. 
V.  4.     To  this  we  answer  in  the  three  following  particulars : 

(1.)  If  it  can  be  proved  that  God  originally  furnished  man 
with  sufficient  knowledge  of,  and  ability  for  the  discharge  of 
his  duty,  and  that  man,  by  his  chosen  rebellion,  forfeited  this, 
in  common  with  all  other  mercies,  and  exposed  himself  to  the 
deserved  vengeance  of  God:  then  there  can  be  no  more  un- 
righteousness in  God  to  deny  the  creature,  thus  fallen,  what 
they  call  sufficient  grace,  than  to  reserve  fallen  angels  in  chains, 
under  darkness,  to  the  coming  of  the  great  day.  There  would 
be  some  appearance  of  reason  in  the  objection,  if  man  was  now 
to  be  considered  as  innocent,  and  in  the  uprightness  in  which 
God  originally  made  him;  but  the  ScriptuVe  concludes  him  un- 
der guilt;  a  very  material  circumstance,  which  the  objection 
takes  no  manner  of  notice  of. 

(2.)  If  by  sufficient  grace  is  intended  that  which  is  absolutely 
so  in  itself,  without  the  industry  and  care  of  the  creature,  or 
some  superadded  aids  from  heaven,  we  deny  that  there  is  such 
grace  given  to  all  men;  for  if  there  was,  the  effect  must  be  the 
same  in  all,  and  so  none  could  miscarry.  If  it  is  said,  the  suc- 
cess depends  on  the  will  of  the  creature,  then  this  grace  is  so 
far  insufficient  in  itself,  and  the  phrase  improper :  if  on  a  divine 
interposure,  the  objection  comes  to  nothing;  since  it  is  then 
agreed,  with  us,  that  let  the  supposed  grace  be  never  so  suffi- 
cient, the  event  is  determined  by  a  divine  agency.  Besides,  is 
it  not  evident,  from  the  Spirit's  striving  with  the  ungodly  world, 
in  Noah's  time,  for  a  hundred  years  together,  without  success, 
and  from  the  conduct  of  the  Jews,  who,  for  so  many  ages,  en- 

41 


322  OF   EFFICACIOUS   GRACE. 

joyed  the  ministry  of  the  prophets,  and  at  length  of  the  Son  of 
God  himself,  that  common  convictions,  attended  with  the  best 
of  external  advantages,  are  insufficient  to  effect  the  great  work 
of  regeneration?    But, 

(3.)  As  to  the  place  quoted  from  the  prophet  Isaiah,  in  which 
God  is  represented,  as  asking,  "  What  could  he  have  done  more 
that  was  not  done?"  we  are  not  to  suppose  that  he  speaks  as 
having  exerted  himself,  ad  ultimum  sui  posse,  or  as  if  he  could 
not  have  given  grace;  for,  to  be  sure,  he  who  made  the  vine, 
could  make  it  as  fruitful  as  he  pleased.  The  phrase  is  evidently 
more  hum.ano,  in  which  the  Almighty  stoops  to  expostulate 
with  the  creature,  for  the  abuse  of  his  mercies,  and  upbraids 
him  with  his  ingratitude;  but  is  far  from  giving  the  least  coun- 
tenance to  his  pride,  in  a  false  opinion  of  his  own  sufficiency. 
We  might  add,  as  a  further  proof,  that  what  the  objection  calls 
sufficient  grace,  is  not  given  to  all;  that  the  very  means  of  grace 
are  denied  to  many.  The  gospel  revelation  is  entirely  unknown 
to  a  great  part  of  the  world  now,  as  it  was  to  the  greatest  part 
of  it,  under  the  Jewish  dispensation;  and  the  declaration  is 
express,  that  "  there  is  salvation  in  no  other  but  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  nor  any  other  name  given  under  heaven,  whereby  we 
can  be  saved;  that  faith  comes  by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the 
word  of  God;"  so  that  we  may  ask,  with  the  apostle,  "How 
shall  they  believe  on  him,  of  whom  they  have  not  heard?"  Such 
undoubtedly,  have  not  the  sufficient  grace  which  our  opponents 
contend  for;  and  I  need  only  add,  with  respect  to  others,  who 
are  favoured  with  the  gospel,  why  do  saints  after  conversion, 
beg  so  earnestly  of  God,  that  he  would  enlighten,  assist,  sup- 
port, and  sanctify  them,  if  the  means  which  they  enjoyed  were 
sufficient  in  themselves  for  this  purpose,  or  might  be  rendered 
so,  by  their  own  care  and  industry?  If  we  may  judge  of  their 
sentiments  by  their  petitions,  they  apprehended  grace  from  God, 
as  well  as,  and  together  with,  the  means,  to  be  absolutely  ne- 
cessary to  their  spiritual  improvement,  and  proficiency  in  holi- 
ness.   But, 

2.  It  is  further  objected,  that  if  God  has  not  given  sufficient 
grace  to  all,  why  does  he  judge  or  condemn  any  for  the  want 
of  it?  To  this  we  answer,  with  the  apostle  Paul,  there  will  be 
two  rules,  by  which  the  Judge  will  proceed  in  the  great  day; 
"  As  many  as  have  sinned  without  the  law,  shall  also  perish 
without  the  law;  and  as  many  as  have  sinned  in  the  law,  shall 
be  judged  by  the  law,"  Rom.  ii.  12.  I  am  far  from  believing 
that  God  will  condemn  the  heathen,  who  never  heard  of  Christ, 
for  not  believing  in  him,  but  conclude  that  they  will  be  judged 
by  that  law  which  is  written  upon  their  hearts,  which  either 
excuses  or  accuses,  according  to  the  good  or  evil  of  their  actions. 
And  as  for  those  who  live  under  the  sound  of  the  gospel,  and 
finally  perish  in  unbelief,  they  will  not,  I  humbly  conceive,  be 


OF   EFFICACIOUS    GRACE.  323 

condemned  so  much  for  their  spiritual  impotence,  as  for  their 
hardening  tiieir  hearts,  and  positively  shutting  their  ears  against 
Christ:  and,  if  this  is  the  case,  "  is  God  unrighteous,  who  taketh 
vengeance?"     God  forbid  it.     But, 

3.  It  is  objected,  that  God  commands  us  to  make  ourselves 
new  hearts;  that  he  says,  "Turn  ye,  turn  ye,  why  will  ye  die?" 
that  we  are  exhorted  to  "  cleanse  our  own  hearts,"  and  the  like. 
Now,  say  they,  if  this  is  impracticable  by  the  creature,  how  does 
this  reflect  upon  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  the  Lawgiver ! 
Upon  his  wisdom  in  requiring  that  of  us,  which  he  knows  is  only 
in  his  own  power  to  bestow:  and  upon  his  goodness  in  deriding 
and  mocking  his  creatures  with  their  misery?  What  should  we 
think  of  a  prince,  who  should  command  his  subjects,  on  pain  of 
his  displeasure,  to  measure  out  the  ocean,  or  number  the  sands 
on  the  sea  shore?  Or  should  he  require  of  them  any  thing  else 
equally  impossible,  how  unworthy  would  this  be  of  him,  and 
how  injurious  to  them!  And  shall  we  impute  this  to  him,  who 
is  infinite  goodness,  and  immense  wisdom?  God  forbid.  To 
this  we  answer, 

(1.)  That  if  a  command  on  God's  part  necessarily  infers  a.  full 
power  on  our  part  to  comply  with  it,  or  fulfil  it,  then  we  must 
be  supposed  to  have  the  same  power  to  serve  him,  as  the  saints 
in  glory  have  :  and,  in  this  respect,  the  difference  between  a  state 
of  imperfection  and  absolute  perfection,  would  be  lost ;  for  God 
requires  we  should  "  love  him  with  all  our  hearts,  and  with  all 
our  souls;"  and  the  law  admits  of  no  abatement,  and  rigorously 
requires  perfection,  and  threatens  eternal  death  to  him  who  con- 
tinues not  in  all  things  written  therein  to  do  them:  so  that  if 
this  were  a  fair  way  of  reasoning,  we  must  conclude,  that  be- 
cause God  commands  we  should  be  holy,  as  he  is  holy,  walk  as 
Christ  walked,  therefore  we  might,  by  our  own  power,  cleanse 
ourselves  from  every  degree  of  filthiness,  both  of  flesh  and  spi- 
rit, and  perfect  holiness  in  his  fear.     But, 

(2.)  The  most  that  can  be  judged  of  commands  and  exhorta- 
tions, in  Scripture,  is  this:  they  are  representations  of  our  dicty, 
not  of  our  strength;  declarative  of  God's  authority/;  and  right 
of  dominion,  and  not  of  our  power  or  ability.  A  command  re- 
spects us  as  creatures,  whether  upright  or  fallen;  it  is  equally 
obligatory  on  us :  God  hath  the  same  claim  to  worship  from  us, 
and  the  same  dominion  over  us,  since,  as  before  the  fall.  To 
which  we  add, 

(3.)  The  design  of  God,  in  these  commands,  is  to  acquaint 
us  with  the  necessity  and  importance  of  these  things  which  he 
requires;  particularly  in  the  instances  referred  to,  "That  with- 
out holiness  we  cannot  see  his  face;  that  except  a  man  have  a 
new  heart,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven:"  and 
so  they  are  intended,  upon  a  conviction  of  our  weakness  and 
insufficiency,  to  lead  us  to  him,  who  hath  not  only  required 


324  OF   EFFICACIOUS    GRACE. 

them  of  us,  but  hath  promised  to  bestow  them  upon  us;  so  that 
the  awakened  sinner,  comparing  the  command  and  the  promise 
together,  in  the  one,  is  led  to  contemplate  the  majesty,  autho- 
rity, and  holiness  of  God;  in  the  other,  his  grace  and  faithful- 
ness: the  one  is  the  rule  of  his  duty;  the  other,  the  ground  of  his 
faith.  From  the  one,  he  learns  what  he  ought  to  be,  and  do, 
whilst  he  is  led  on,  and  encouraged  by  the  other,  to  pray  for 
that  grace  which  is  sufficient  for  him. 

The  same  may  be  said  with  respect  to  the  expostulations 
which  we  meet  with  in  Scripture :  they  are  designed  to  work 
upon  the  minds  of  those  to  whom  they  are  addressed,  and  are 
made  use  of  by  the  Spirit  of  God  in  convincing  of  sin ;  and  is 
there  any  impropriety  in  charging  it  upon  a  rebellious  ungrate- 
f nl  generation,  that  whereas  "  the  ox  knows  his  owner,  and  the 
ass  his  master's  crib,"  they,  by  a  neglect  of  duty  to  their  daily 
benefactor,  discover  more  stupidity  and  disingenuity,  than  the 
very  beasts  who  perish?  May  not  the  only  wise  God  make  use 
of  the  most  moving  and  affecting  language,  in  upbraiding  his 
reasonable  creatures  with  a  contempt  of  his  goodness,  without 
supposing  the  sinner  to  be  self-sufficient,  and  to  stand  in  no  need 
of  his  assistance  ? 

4.  It  is  further  objected,  that  whereas  we  say  the  sinner  is 
passive  in  regeneration,  this  is  to  destroy  the  freedom  of  the 
will,  to  subvert  human  liberty,  and  to  reduce  the  reasonable 
creature  to  a  mere  machine,  and  so  to  take  away  the  merit  of 
virtue,  by  making  it  necessary,  and  not  the  result  of  choice. 
To  this  we  answer ;  We  are  to  distinguish  between  the  nature 
of  the  will,  and  the  qualities  of  it:  the  soul  is  the  same,  in  all 
Its  faculties,  after  regeneration,  as  it  was  before ;  but  the  quali- 
ties of  it  are  altered.  The  grace  of  God  changes  the  corrupt, 
without  invading  the  created  nature  of  the  will.  Man's  will, 
before  the  fall,  was  holy,  as  well  as  free,  and  so  necessarily 
under  a  rational  bias  to  every  thing  that  was  consonant  to  the 
divine  Mind,  and  which  was  made  known  to  him  as  such:  but 
the  will  of  man,  as  fallen,  is  impaired,  not  so  much  in  its  nature, 
or  essence,  as  in  its  tendency;  it  is  now  most  unhappily  turned 
off,  from  spiritual  to  carnal  and  sensual  objects ;  the  will  is  the 
same  in  itself,  or  in  its  nature,  now,  as  it  was  then ;  but  the  bias 
is  very  different:  so  that  if  we  would  judge  aright  of  the  free- 
dom of  man's  will,  we  must  consider  the  objects  about  which  it 
is  supposed  to  be  conversant.  If  the  worship,  service,  or  love 
of  God,  are  taken  into  the  question,  we  assert,  these  were  origi- 
nally chosen  objects  of  the  delight  of  the  innocent  creature,  but 
are  now  the  matters  of  his  aversion,  whilst  he  continues  in  a 
state  of  unregeneracy;  and,  when  he  is  renewed,  and  every 
high  thought  and  imagination  is  reduced  to  a  subjection  to 
Christ,  we  never  meet  with  a  complaint  from  him  of  violence 
offered  to  his  will,  of  being  forced  and  compelled  to  the  choice 


OF   EFFICACIOUS   GRACE.  325 

of  holiness.  True,  he  is  sensible  of  the  hand  of  God  upon  his 
soul ;  he  feels,  acknowledges,  and  adores  the  arm  of  the  Lord  in 
his  conversion;  but  he  is  so  far  from  thinking  it  any  hardship, 
that  he  rejoices  abundantly  in  the  mercy:  and  whereas,  now 
his  soul  is  thirsting  after  God,  and  his  delight  is  in  the  law  of 
the  Lord,  he  is  sensible  this  wonderful  change,  in  this  case,  was 
effected  by  his  power,  who  "works  in  his  people  both  to  will 
and  to  do,  of  his  own  good  pleasure:"  he  is  far  from  desiring 
such  a  liberty,  as  would  leave  him  as  liable  to  apostatize  and 
miscarry,  as  to  persevere  and  be  saved  :  no  ;  he  rather  longs  to 
be  in  heaven,  among  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  under 
a  glorious  necessity  (if  that  may  be  deemed  so,  which  is  the 
matter  of  their  constant  choice  and  delight)  of  serving  God, 
without  weariness  or  interruption:  if  he  might  express  the 
utmost  of  his  ambition,  it  is  to'  be  with  Jesus,  in  a  world  where 
to  sin  or  to  offend  is  impossible. 

We  may  observe,  that  at  the  same  time  we  assert,  that  God 
works  immediately  in  implanting  the  principle  of  grace,  we 
allow,  that  the  renewed  sinner  is  a  proper  subject  of  moral 
suasion;  and  that  God  deals  with  him,  in  promoting  a  work  of 
grace  in  his  heart,  in  an  argumentative  way,  and  enables  him 
to  compare  and  judge  of  things  which  are  proposed  to  him,  as 
proper  to  be  pursued  or  avoided,  and  to  choose,  or  refuse,  as 
they  appear  desirable,  or  the  contrary ;  though  we  conclude,  in 
all  this,  the  saint  gladly  esteems  God's  word  as  his  only  rule, 
and  his  Spirit,  as  his  only  guide.  As  to  what  is  said  concerning 
virtue,  and  the  rewards  which  are  supposed  to  be  due  to  it,  I 
apprehend,  man,  in  his  best  estate,  is  vanity ;  his  obedience,  in 
its  utmost  spirituality  and  perfection,  is  a  debt  which  he  owes  to 
his  great  Creator;  nor  can  he  be  profitable  unto  God,  so  as  to 
enter  a  claim,  or  challenge  a  reward  from  the  Almighty ;  so  that 
as  we  utterly  disclaim  the  doctrine  of  merit  on  the  creature's 
part,  we  need  not  inquire  how  far  the  grace  of  God,  in  the 
renewing  of  a  sinner,  destroys  this  idol,  which  the  pride  of  man 
is  so  willing  to  set  up  and  worship. 

5.  It  is  objected,  if  God  works  in  us  both  to  will  and  to  do, 
and  without  his  special  grace  we  can  do  nothing,  then  we  may 
even  sit  still,  and  do  nothing,  only  wait  carelessly  till  he  shall 
excite  us  to,  or  assist  us  in  our  duty;  and  so  this  doctrine,  say 
they,  destroys  all  diligence  and  industry,  and  renders  the  sin- 
ner's endeavours,  how  sincere  and  serious  soever,  foolish  and 
unnecessary.  To  this  we  answer,  that  the  great  God  may 
certainly  fix  upon  what  order  he  pleases,  in  his  conferring  of 
favours,  and  bestowing  undeserved  blessings.  Now,  the  order 
he  has  settled  is  this ;  that  though  he  gives  all  freely,  and  not 
for  our  sakes,  yet  he  will  be  sought  to,  and  inquired  of,  by  us 
for  those  spiritual  mercies,  which  we  want  at  his  hand;  the 
direction  is,  "Ask,  seek,  and  knock;"  the  encouragement  .ies 


326  OF   EFFICACIOUS   GRACE. 

in  the  promise,  "Ye  shall  receive,  ye  shall  find,  and  it  shall  be 
opened  unto  you.  They  who  seek  me  early,"  says  God, 
"shall  find  me;"  and  such  as  wait  on  him,  "shall  renew  their 
strength;"  so  that  it  is  in  a  way  of  duty  that  we  are  to  expect 
his  presence.  God  is  not,  indeed,  tied  up  to  means,  he  may  be 
"found  of  them  who  seek  him  not;"  but  he  has  obliged  us  to 
a  constant  and  diligent  attendance  upon  them ;  and  I  would 
ask,  is  not  his  promise  of  meeting  and  blessing  us,  of  his  being 
in  the  midst  of  us,  to  assist  and  comfort  us,  a  more  rational  and 
powerful  motive  to  a  close  adherence  to  our  duty,  than  a  false 
imagination  of  a  power,  which  we  are  not  really  possessed  of, 
and  so  must  necessarily  disappoint  us  in  all  our  ungrounded 
expectations  from  it? 

Thus  we  have  gone  through  the  principal  objections  ad- 
vanced against  the  doctrine  of  efficacious  grace,  and  conclude, 
upon  the  whole,  that  we  have  Scripture  and  experience  on  our 
side,  whilst  we  assert,  that  regeneration  "is  not  of  the  will  of 
the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God."  What  remains, 
but  a  serious  inquiry,  whether  we  have  tasted  that  the  Lord  is 
gracious;  how  far  we  have  been  quickened  by  the  mighty 
power  of  God,  who  were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins?  Without 
the  new  birth  there  is  no  entering  into  heaven,  our  Lord  has 
expressly  assured  us.  What  can  we  then  say  of  God's  gracious 
dealings  with  us?  Has  he  put  his  Spirit  within  us,  written  his 
law  in  our  hearts,  taken  the  stone  out  of  our  hearts,  and  given 
us  hearts  of  flesh  ?  Have  we  been  made  to  loathe  and  abhor 
ourselves ;  to  prize,  above  every  thing,  the  person,  righteous- 
ness, and  fulness  of  Christ  ?  Have  we  fled  for  refuge  to  him, 
as  ready  to  perish  ?  and  do  we  find  a  spirit  of  grace  and  suppli- 
cation poured  out  upon  us?  Do  we  thirst  after  communion 
with,  and  aim  at  a  resemblance  to  Jesus  ?  Is  this,  or  such  like, 
the  genuine  experience  of  our  souls?  then  let  us  call  upon  them, 
and  all  that  is  within  us,  to  bless  his  name,  whose  workman- 
ship we  are.  Let  him  have  all  the  glory;  and  let  it  be  our 
great  concern,  as  well  as  prayer  to  God  continually,  that  we 
may,  in  all  things,  walk  worthy  of  his  holy  vocation,  adorning 
the  doctrine  of  God  our  Saviour,  till  we  get  safe  to  that  world, 
where  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit,  will  be  all  in  all,  as  the  ever- 
lasting source  of  pure  and  perfect  happiness;  and  where,  as 
the  great  Jehovah,  one  God  over  all,  they  will,  to  endless  ageS; 
inhabit  the  praises  of  those  who  shall  stand  before  the  throne, 
perfectly  cleansed  from  all  filthiness,  both  of  flesh  and  Spirit, 
and  whose  robes  shall  be  washed  and  made  while  in  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb. 


THE 

DOCTRINE  OF 

PERSEVERANCE    IN    GRACE, 

STATED  AND   DEFENDED; 

IN   TWO   SERMONS. 

By  MR.  THOMAS  HALL, 

MINISTER  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 


SERMON  I. 

Philippians  i.  6. — Being  confident  of  this  very  thing,  that  he  which  hath  begun 
a  good  work  in  you,  will  perform  it  until  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Whatever  be  the  immunities  and  privileges  a  people  at  present 
enjoy,  it  is  a  vast  addition  to  have  a  good  security  for  the  lasting 
possession  of  them.  Glorious  things,  indeed,  are  spoken  of 
Zion,  the  city  of  God :  the  inhabitants  thereof  are,  of  all  people 
upon  earth,  the  most  happy;  their  peculiar  privileges  are  all 
spiritual,  and,  on  that  account,  transcendently  great  and  excel- 
lent. As  they  are  elected  of  God,  they  are  the  objects  of  his 
distinguishing  and  everlasting  love  ;  being  redeemed  and  clothed 
with  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  they  are  blessed  with  the  for- 
giveness of  their  sins;  being  called  effectually  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  they  are  made  partakers  of  a  divine  nature,  and  delivered 
from  the  bond  of  iniquity;  by  being  adopted  and  renewed,  they 
become  the  children  of  God,  are  fitted  for  communion  with  their 
heavenly  Father,  admitted  into  his  gracious  presence,  and  actu- 
ally constituted  the  heirs  of  glory.  But  that,  which  adds  to  all, 
is  an  assurance,  that  they  who  have  once  had  an  access  into 
this  grace,  shall  perpetually  stand  therein. 

Without  an  assurance  of  this,  the  holy  pleasure  excited  in 
the  mind  by  the  glorious  truths  of  the  Gospel,  insisted  upon  ir 
the  preceding  sermons,  would  soon  languish  and  die.  It  would 
certainly  damp  the  joys  of  a  believer,  who  knows  the  treachery 
of  his  own  heart,  and  is  convinced  of  the  power  and  craft  of 
his  hellish  foes,  if,  after  all  he  hears  of  these  invaluable  grants, 
he  must  be  told  they  may  every  one  be  revoked,  and,  through 
a  possibility  of  falling  from  grace,  the  persons,  who  have  been 
so  highly  favoured,  may  fall  into  disgrace,  be  abandoned,  and 
suffered  to  perish  at  last. 

327 


328  OF    PERSEVERANCE    IN    GRACE. 

That  all  fears  of  this  kind  may  be  prevented,  He,  who  cannot 
lie,  has  declared,  in  his  word,  that  "  The  holy  people,  the 
redeemed  of  the  Lord,  who  are  sought  out,  shall  be  a  city  not 
forsaken,"  Isa.  Ixii.  12;  that  "the  place  of  their  defence  shall 
be  the  munition  of  rocks ;  their  bread  shall  be  given  them,  and 
their  waters  shall  be  sure,"  Isa.  xxxiii.  16;  that  "God  will 
create  upon  every  dwelling-place  of  mount  Zion,  and  upon  her 
assemblies  a  cloud  and  smoke  by  day,  and  the  shining  of  a 
flaming  fire  by  night ;  for  upon  all  the  glory  shall  be  a  defence," 
Isa.  iv.  5.  From  these,  and  many  other  declarations  of  hea- 
ven, the  apostle  might  well  be  confident  that  He,  who  had  begun 
a  good  work  in  the  Philippians,  would  perform  it  until  the  day 
of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  important  article  of  the  saints'  estahlishment  and  per- 
severance in  grace,  being  alloted  to  my  consideration  in  this 
Lecture,  I  have  turned  you  to  this  verse ;  because  it  will  soon 
appear,  from  a  just  explication  of  the  words,  that  this  doctrine 
is  really  founded  upon  divine  authority. 

To  guide  us  into  the  meaning  of  the  text,  and  to  direct  us  in 
its  application,  it  will  be  proper  to  take  notice  of  these  four 
things:  1.  The  work  itself,  which  is  here  spoken  of.  2.  The 
perfection  that  was  to  crown  it.  3.  The  apostle's  confidence 
with  respect  to  that  perfection.  4.  The  common  concern  and 
interest  of  the  saints  in  the  whole  matter. 

(1.)  I  shall  consider  the  laork  itself,  which  was  begun  in  the 
Philippians. 

This  is  termed  a  good  work,  by  which  we  are  to  understand 
the  work  of  grace,  or  the  internal,  supernatural,  and  effectual 
work  of  the  Spirit  of  God  upon  their  souls,  whereby  they  were 
made  partakers  of  his  heavenly  grace  ;  in  consequence  whereof, 
they  were  renewed,  sanctified,  or  made  holy,  and  thus  became 
new  creatures. 

That  this  work  was  begun  in  them,  may  easily  be  collected 
from  several  passages  in  this  epistle ;  particularly  from  the 
seventh  verse  of  this  chapter,  where  the  apostle  says,  they  ivere 
partakers  of  his  grace;  i.  e.  of  the  like  grace  with  himself:  and 
this  is  agreeable  to  his  declaration  in  the  twenty-ninth  verse, 
that  unto  them  it  was  given,  as  well  as  to  him,  "both  to  believe 
on  Christ,  and  to  suffer  for  his  sake."  Further,  when  he  prays, 
in  the  ninth  verse,  that  "  their  love  might  abound  yet  more  and 
more  in  knowledge,  and  in  all  judgment,"  it  is  supposed  that 
they  were  already  favoured  with  some  knowledge  and  some 
judgment  in  spiritual  things ;  and  that  their  knowledge  did  not 
rest  in  mere  speculation,  but  it  warmed  the  heart,  and  kindled  a 
holy  flame  within  :  yea,  that  as  their  knowledge  was  not  a  dead 
notion,  so  neither  was  their  love  a  blind  affection  ;  but  its  mo- 
tions and  actings  were  under  the  guidance  of  an  enlightened 
mind :  and,  upon  the  whole  of  what  the  apostle  had  observed, 


>  OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN   GRACE  329 

while  among  them,  and  heard  of  them,  when  absent  he  conclu- 
ded that  they  were  the  seals  of  his  apostleship  and  ministry; 
and,  as  such,  he  calls  them  "  his  joy  and  crown,"  Phil.  iv.  1. 
Hence  it  appears  that  the  good  work  of  grace  was  begun  in 
them. 

And  since  no  other  work  whatever,  in  which  they  were  espe- 
cially concerned,  either  had,  or  was  intended  to  have,  the  like 
abiding  duration  with  the  work  of  grace;  and  since  nothing 
short  of  this  could  have  given  the  like  superlative  occasion  for 
that  abundant  thankfulness  and  joy,  which,  in  the  preceding 
verse,  he  declares  he  had,  upon  every  remembrance  of  them, 
and  their  fellowship  in  the  gospel,  we  must  therefore  conclude, 
that  the  work  of  true  grace,  and  not  the  preaching  of  the  gospel, 
was  that  good  work  which  the  text  referred  to :  and  thus  I  shall 
constantly  understand  it.     Let  us  next  consider, 

(2.)  The  perfection  with  which  this  work  was  to  be  crowned. 

This  is  expressed  by  its  being  performed  until  the  day  of 
Jesus  Christ.  By  the  day  of  Christ,  is  here  meant  the  day  of 
his  second  appearance,  when  he  shall  come  to  judge  the  quick 
and  the  dead.  This  interpretation  agrees  with  the  phrase  used 
by  the  apostle,  in  his  first  epistle  to  the  Thessalonians,  chap.  v. 
23,  when  he  prays,  that  "  they  might  be  preserved  blameless 
unto  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  The  expression  in 
the  text  running  in  such  terms,  must  imply  a  complete  protec- 
tion through  all  the  temptations  and  dangers,  not  of  life  only, 
but  of  death  itself;  and  the  saints  may  warrantably  expect  a 
final  perseverance  in  grace,  till  they  are  brought  safe  to  glory. 

By  the  force  of  the  word  in  the  original,  the  perfection  of  the 
work  is  likewise  signified.  The  Greek  verb  which  we  render 
perform,  might  well  be  translated  finish;  and  when  the  last 
conflict  with  death  is  over,  then  shall  the  saints  be  immediately 
made  perfect  in  holiness,  and  be  preserved  blameless  till  the 
day  of  Jesus  Christ.  Nor  is  it  a  determinate  period,  with  an 
exclusion  of  succeeding  duration,  that  is  here  intended;  but  the 
meaning  is,  that  the  good  work  shall  be  finished,  and,  being 
finished,  it  shall  remain  for  ever  perfect;  for,  in  the  day  of  judg- 
ment, the  saints  shall  be  openly  acknowledged,  and  pronounced 
blessed :  yea,  by  some  solemn  action,  they  shall  then  be  publicly 
confirmed  in  a  state  of  perfect  purity  and  endless  bliss.  I  shall 
therefore  consider, 

(3.)  The  apostle's  confidence,  v^'iih.  respect  to  this  perfection. 

In  this  expression,  "  Being  confident  of  this  very  thing,"  we 
may  take  notice  there  are  two  pronouns,  the  emphasis  whereof 
is  well  observed  in  our  translation,  the  words  being  rendered, 
"  this  very  thing."  The  phrase,  as  it  stands  here,  points  out 
three  things. 

1.  The  certainty  of  the  saints'  final  perseverance  in  grace. 
This  privilege  is  here  spoken  of  as  a  matter,  the  accomplish- 

42 


330  OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN   GRACE. 

merit  whereof  may  be  depended  upon.  The  expression  will 
not  admit  of  the  least  doubt  or  suspicion;  for  it  does  not  leave 
the  case  to  rest  upon  a  probability,  though  of  the  highest  degree, 
but  it  carries  it  to  the  greatest  certainty.  It  is  as  though  he  had 
said,  if  I  can  be  confident  of  any  thing,  I  can  be  confident  of 
this,  that  where  God  has  begun  the  good  work,  he  will  perform 
it  until  the  day  of  Christ. 

The  grounds  upon  which  his  assurance  was  built,  shall  be 
considered  hereafter;  I  shall  go  on  to  observe  that  this  phrase 
points  out, 

2.  The  importance  of  this  privilege.  The  distinctness,  ear- 
nestness, and  fervour,  with  which  the  apostle  mentions  it,  are 
plain  indications  that  it  is  a  matter  of  importance.  Our  atten- 
tion would  not  have  been  quickened  by  this  remarkable  intro- 
duction, had  not  what  follows  carried  in  it  an  answerable  weight 
and  moment. 

And  there  is  good  reason  for  the  utmost  stress  to  be  laid  upon 
the  saints'  perseverance  in  grace ;  for,  of  all  the  privileges  which 
belong  to  a  believer's  state,  there  is  not  a  greater  or  one  more 
valuable.  It  is  so  important  and  necessary,  that  without  it  all 
the  blessings  which  could  be  included  in  the  fellowship  of  the 
gospel,  would  quickly  lose  their  glory;  yea,  and  become  as 
things  of  nought,  in  regard  of  the  comfort  and  complete  salva- 
tion of  the  soul.  We  may  likewise  take  notice  that  the  phrase 
points  out, 

3.  The  importance  of  the  belief  of  this  doctrine,  as  well  as 
the  moment  of  the  doctrine  itself.  This  we  may  infer,  from  its 
connexion  with  the  third  and  fourth  verses,  where  we  read  of 
the  apostle's  thankfulness  to  God  upon  every  remembrance  of 
the  Phihppians,  and  of  his  making  request  for  them  with  joy. 
Now,  his  confidence,  that  "  the  good  work  would  be  performed 
to  the  day  of  Christ,"  stands  as  one  reason,  both  of  his  thank- 
fulness and  of  his  joy. 

Hence  we  may  learn,  that  unless  he  had  been  confident  of 
this  very  thing,  he  could  not  have  presented  his  request  and 
prayer  for  them  with  the  joy  that  he  here  did;  nor  could  there 
have  been  that  life  and  cheerfulness  in  his  praise  that  are  here 
expressed:  so  that  his  confidence  in  this  matter,  or,  in  other 
terms,  his  firm  behef  of  the  doctrine  of  the  saints'  final  perse- 
verance, had  a  special  influence,  not  only  upon  his  comfort  and 
joy,  but  likewise  upon  the  praise  and  worship  of  God. 

And  the  more  direct,  or  the  greater  the  influence  which  the 
belief  of  any  doctrine  has  upon  these  things,  the  greater  is  the 
importance  of  such  a  belief,  as  must  be  allowed  by  all  that 
have  any  due  regard  to  either. 

Having  shown  the  justness  of  these  remarks,  I  shall  proceed 
to  the  last  thing  proposed  for  the  opening  the  words;  and  that 
is,  to  consider, 


OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN   GRACE.  331 

(4.)  The  common  concern  and  interest  of  the  saints  in  the 
whole  affair,  or  their  common  part  or  lot  in  the  state  supposed, 
and  in  the  privilege  asserted  in  the  text.  Under  this  head,  wq 
may  observe  two  things: 

1.  That  all  the  saints  have  the  same  good  luork  begun  in 
them,  which  was  begun  in  the  believers  of  the  apostle's  day. 
This  will  be  evident,  if  we  briefly  take  a  comparative  view  of 
the  spiritual  and  gracious  attainments  of  those  believers,  with 
the  near  and  just  resemblance  of  the  corresponding  graces 
which  are  wrought  in  all  the  saints;  e.  g.  were  the  believers  of 
old  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  their  mind,  and  blessed  with  the 
knowledge  of  the  Redeemer?  so  are  all  the  saints.  Were  the 
principles  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ  in  them  the  foundation  of 
repentance  from  dead  works,  and  faith  towards  God?  so  they 
are  in  all  his  people.  Did  the  Lord  open  their  hearts  to  believe 
unto  righteousness?  this  is  done  for  every  child  of  God.  Did 
their  faith  work  by  love?  Did  it  purify  the  heart,  raise  their 
affections,  and  set  them  on  things  above?  Did  it  give  them 
victory  over  the  world,  and  dispose  them  to  follow  Christ  at  all 
hazards?  The  same  effects  do  universally  attend  the  faith  of 
all  that  are  truly  sanctified.  And  we  may  warrantably  declare, 
that  the  root  of  the  matter  is  in  all  them  with  whom  these  fruits 
are  found;  that  they  have  the  faith,  which  is  the  fruit  of  the 
Spirit,  the  faith  which  is  of  the  operation  of  God.  And,  upon 
this  foundation,  we  need  not  be  afraid  to  assert,  that  they  are 
partakers,  with  the  Philippians,  of  the  grace  of  God,  as,  upon 
the  like  foundation,  the  apostle  acknowledges  concerning  them, 
that  they  were  partakers  of  the  same  grace  with  him.  Again, 
we  may  observe, 

2.  That  the  apostle  had  no  special  ground  for  his  confidence 
in  the  case  of  the  Philippians,  beyond  what  he  had  with  respect 
to  all  believers.  If  an  attempt  should  be  made  to  set  aside  this 
remark,  one  of  these  two  things  must  be  advanced,  viz.  either 
that  the  apostle's  confidence  was  grounded  on  some  particular 
revelation  from  God,  promising  the  safety  of  the  Philippians, 
in  which  other  saints  had  no  concern,  like  that  which  had  a 
singular  regard  to  the  safety  of  Paul's  mariners;  or  else  it  must 
be  pretended,  that  his  confidence  arose  from  some  testimony 
given  of  the  truth  of  their  graces,  which  testimony  was  peculiar 
to  them,  and  not  given  of  the  graces  of  others.  But  neither  of 
these  suppositions  will  suit  with  the  language  which  immedi- 
ately follows  in  the  next  verse,  where  the  apostle  says,  "  Even 
as  it  is  meet  for  me  to  think  this  of  you  all."  By  this  passage 
we  are  let  into  the  apostle's  method  of  reasoning  in  the  case, 
and  the  force  of  his  argument  may  be  shown  after  this  manner. 

He  first  lays  it  down  as  a  Scripture  principle,  or  point  of 
divine  revelation,  that  where  God  has  begun  the  good  work, 
he  will  carry  it  on  to  the  day  of  Christ.     He  then  introduces 


332  OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN    GRACE. 

his  good  opinion  of  the  Philippians,  with  the  grounds  and  rea- 
sons of  it,  declaring  he  accounted  them  partakers  of  the  grace 
of  God,  and  esteemed  them  to  be  persons  in  whom  the  good 
work  was  begun ;  and,  from  hence,  the  conchision  was  easy  and 
jiatural,  that  as  God  had  begun  the  good  work  in  them,  he 
would  surely  perform  it  to  the  day  of  Christ;  for  it  shall  cer- 
tainly be  thus  carried  on  in  all  upon  whom  it  is  once  begun. 

Beza  observes,  that  the  word,  in  the  original,  should  here  be 
taken  to  signify  not  his  affection  to  them,  but  his  judgment 
concerning  them,  and  the  state  they  were  in.  And,  in  our  trans- 
lation, it  is  thus  rendered.  Now,  since  the  tree  is  known  by  its 
fruit,  he  could  not  but  judge,  from  the  fruits  they  brought  forth, 
some  of  which  are  here  specified,  that  they  really  were  what 
they  professed  to  be:  and,  since  he  had  no  disorder  or  irregu- 
larity to  charge  upon  any  in  that  church,  that  was  inconsistent 
with  a  state  of  grace,  it  was  but  proper  and  meet  for  him  to 
think  this,  or  to  entertain  this  good  opinion  of  them  all,  i.  e.  to 
esteem  them  all  as  gracious  persons.  And  if,  in  truth,  they 
were  all  partakers  of  the  grace  of  God,  he  was  then  confident 
and  sure  they  should  all  be  preserved  unto  the  coming  of  Christ; 
for  this  shall  undoubtedly  be  the  privilege  of  all  that  are  truly 
sanctified. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  apostle's  confidence,  expressed  in  the 
text,  was  not  built  on  any  special  revelation,  or  peculiar  testi- 
mony, in  which  none,  besides  the  Philippians,  had  any  concern; 
but  upon  the  new  covenant,  with  its  settlements  and  promises, 
as  they  are  published  in  the  everlasting  gospel,  the  benefits 
whereof  are  common  to  the  saints  in  all  ages;  and  upon  such 
evidences  of  the  Philippians'  interest  in  that  covenant,  as  will 
universally  prove  an  interest  therein,  with  respect  to  all  in  whom 
the  like  characteristics  are  found. 

As  the  text,  therefore,  was  suited  to  encourage  the  Philip- 
pians, in  an  holy,  humble,  and  joyful  expectation  of  their  being 
preserved  until  the  day  of  Christ;  so  it  is  equally  adapted  to 
promote  the  like  expectation  and  hope  in  all  true  believers,  to 
the  end  of  time. 

To  sum  up  the  whole :  our  asserting,  from  this  passage,  the 
doctrine  of  the  saints'  perseverance  in  grace,  is  sufficiently  jus- 
tified by  a  careful  attention  to  the  apostle's  method  of  reasoning; 
for  hereby  it  is  manifest  that  this  was  not  a  privilege  peculiar 
to  the  Philippians,  or  that  there  was  nothing  particular  in  their 
case  to  be  the  ground  of  his  confidence  concerning  their  safety. 
But  his  arguing  upon  this  principle,  in  the  manner  we  have 
shown,  proves  that  he  took  this  to  be  the  doctrine  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, applicable  to  the  case  of  all  in  whom  the  good  work  is 
begun:  and,  since  he  was  under  the  immediate  direction  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,  in  his  reasoning,  the  use  that  is  here  made  of 
this  point,  gives  it  a  fresh  confirmation ;  and  the  stress  he  lays 


OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN   GRACE.  333 

upon  it,  ought  to  be  esteemed  as  an  infallible  testimony,  that 
this  doctrhie  is  of  divine  original. 

Thus  I  have  given  a  large  exposition  of  the  text,  to  let  you 
see,  that  in  its  most  easy,  natural,  and  necessary  construction,  it 
lies  clear,  as  a  sure  foundation  of  the  doctrinal  observation, 
which  I  shall  now  raise  from  it,  viz. 

That  the  good  work  of  grace  shall  be  invincibly  carried  on 
to  perfection  in  all  the  saints. 

I  am  aware  that  my  method  in  opening  the  words  has  taken 
up  a  pretty  deal  of  your  time,  but  some  of  it  may  now  be 
redeemed;  for  I  need  not  give  any  further  description  of  the 
work  of  grace,  nor  add  any  thing  more  to  show  that  this  work 
is  truly  begun  in  all  the  saints,  or  that  there  is  the  same  reason 
for  us  to  conclude  that  the  good  work  shall  be  carried  on  in  all 
believers,  as  there  was  for  the  apostle's  expectation,  that  it 
should  be  performed  in  the  Philippians.  What  I  have  hinted 
already,  in  the  exphcation  of  the  text,  is,  I  think,  as  much  as 
my  present  business  requires  me  to  say  upon  these  heads.  And 
thus  my  work  is  contracted,  and  will  lie  chiefly  in  these  three 
things : 

I.  I  shall  endeavour  to  state  the  point. 

II.  I  shall  produce  some  arguments  for  the  proof  of  this  doc- 
trine. 

III.  I  shall  make  some  reply  to  the  principal  objections  that 
are  urged  against  it ;  and  conclude  with  some  directions  and 
practical  improvement. 

I.  I  shall  endeavour  to  state  the  point  distinctly  and  fully. 

This  is  necessary,  for  the  better  clearing  of  this  doctrine. 
What  I  design  here,  shall  be  reduced  to  three  general  remarks : 
I  shall  not  confine  myself  to  a  bare  naming  the  heads,  but 
enlarge  upon  each  of  them ;  and  hereby  I  would  hope  things  may 
be  so  distinguished  and  settled,  as  sufficiently  to  guard  against 
several  of  the  objections  brought  by  those  who  oppose  this  doc-, 
trine.  And  if  I  should  be  enabled  to  do  this  with  some  degree 
of  exactness  and  care;  I  apprehend  it  would  very  much  facili- 
tate my  work  in  the  remaining  part  of  the  design.  For  the 
clearer  the  distinction  shall  be  made  to  appear,  and  the  stronger 
the  proof  shall  be  of  what  is  now  to  be  laid  down,  with  the 
more  justice  and  freedom,  I  may  venture  to  recur  to  these 
remarks,  as  occasion  shall  hereafter  require;  especially  when  I 
come  to  discharge  the  doctrine  of  the  seeming  difficulties  with 
which  some  would  endeavour  unjustly  to  load  it.  I  shall  there- 
fore observe, 

1.  That  the  establishment  or  perseverance  which  the  Scrip- 
tures assert,  respects  the  work  of  true  grace,  and  that  only. 

2.  It  respects  the  state  of  believers,  but  not  their  frames;  or 
it  respects  the  principle  of  grace,  but  not  its  present  exercise. 

3.  That  all  means  necessary  for  the  establishment  of  this 


334  OF   PERSEVERANCE   IN    GRACE. 

good  work,  are  under  the  direction  of  God ;  and  all  obstacles 
which  would  threaten  a  disappointment,  are  subject  tc  his 
control. 

1,  The  establishment  and  perfection  which  is  here  asserted, 
respects  the  work  of  true  grace,  and  that  only. 

There  are  works  of  another  kind,  and  of  a  different  nature 
which  may  decay  and  come  to  nothing;  but  the  failure  of  these 
can  never  affect  the  truth  of  our  doctrine:  and  the  reason  is 
plain,  because,  though  these  do  generally,  more  or  less,  attend 
the  work  of  grace,  yet  true  grace  does  not  always  accompany 
them.     I  shall  instance  particularly  in  two  things: 

(1.)  In  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit.  By  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit,  I 
here  mean  his  common  operations  upon  the  minds  and  affec- 
tions of  persons  who  hear  the  gospel;  which  operations,  how 
strong  or  powerful  soever  they  be,  do  yet  never  bring  the  reci- 
pient, or  subject  thereof,  into  a  truly  gracious  or  holy  state. 
That  there  is  really  a  distinction  to  be  made  between  the  com- 
mon gifts  and  saving  graces  of  the  Spirit;  or  that  many  of  the 
gifts  of  the  Spirit  may  be  conferred  separately  from  his  graces, 
may  be  easily  shown, from  several  places  of  Scripture;  particu- 
larly from  that  Mat.  vii.  21,  where  our  Lord  speaks  of  some 
who  were  endued  with  the  gift  of  prophecy,  with  the  faith  of 
miracles,  and  the  power  of  casting  out  devils,  but  were  never 
blessed  with  that  grace,  which  is  the  fruit  of  special  love,  which 
effectually  turns  the  heart  from  iniquity,  and  whose  exercise 
ever  meets  with  our  Saviour's  approbation:  they  had  gifts  suffi- 
cient for  the  healing  the  bodily  diseases  of  others,  but  wanted 
the  grace  that  was  necessary  for  the  curing  the  spiritual  mala- 
dies of  their  own  souls. 

This  distinction  may  be  further  supported,  from  the  apostle's 
argument,  1  Cor.  xiii.  1 — 4,  where  he  supposes  that  men  might 
have  the  highest  measures  of  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit,  and  yet  be 
nothing  in  point  of  true  grace :  they  might  have  such  gifts,  as 
to  be  capable  of  understanding  all  mysteries,  and  all  knowledge : 
they  might  have  such  faith,  as  to  be  able  to  remove  mountains, 
and  a  zeal  that  would  incline  them  to  make  the  most  liberal  dis- 
tributions among  the  poor,  and  to  die,  at  last,  as  martyrs  in  the 
cause  of  religion,  and  yet  be  destitute  of  that  charity  and  love 
to  Christ,  and  his  people,  which  is  one  of  the  essential  proper- 
ties of  true  grace. 

And  as  this  distinction  is  supposed,  in  this  argument,  so  it  is 
confirmed  by  another  passage,  2  Cor.  xi.  13,  where  the  apostle 
plainly  shows,  that  there  was,  in  fact,  a  distribution  of  gifts 
wholly  separate  from  works  of  grace  upon  the  hearts  of  those 
that  received  them :  and  this  to  such  a  degree,  that  men  who 
were  inwardly  full  of  all  wickedness,  were  yet  in  a  capacity  of 
imposing  upon  churches,  upon  the  saints  and  people  of  God 
themselves :  yea,  by  reason  of  the  abundant  furniture  they  had, 


OF   PERSEVERANCE   IN   GRACE.  335 

as  to  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit,  they  could  pass  for  the  apostles  of 
Christ. 

And  if  such  an  horrid  deceit  could  be  practised,  in  that  pure 
and  enlightened  age,  no  marvel  that  in  these  times  of  degene- 
racy and  darkness,  many  can  transform  themselves  so  far,  as 
to  have  a  name  to  live,  though  they  are  dead.  But  the  apostle 
tells  us,  2  Cor,  xi.  15,  that  their  end  shall  be  according  to  their 
work.  As  their  works  are  hypocritical  and  deceitful,  so  their 
end  shall  be  destruction. 

Whatever  gifts  are  received  without  grace,  will  fail.  Their 
nature  is  not  abiding,  neither  has  God  engaged  for  their  contin- 
uance :  and  as  these  gifts  will  fail,  so  the  works,  which  were 
wrought  in  the  exercise  thereof,  will  fail  likewise.  And,  gene- 
rally speaking,  by  one  trying  dispensation  or  another,  the  Lord 
turns  such  professors  as  these  upside  down;  and  shows  that 
while  they  said  they  were  Jews,  called  themselves  his  people, 
and  were  accounted  so  by  others,  still  all  their  profession  was  a 
lie ;  during  its  whole  space,  they  held  the  truth  in  unrighteous- 
ness. They  were  always  hypocrites,  and  no  wonder  that  at 
last  they  proved  apostates. 

Such  professors  as  these  our  times  have  brought  forth  in  great 
abundance.  Many,  too  many,  have  there  been,  who  through 
the  brightness  of  their  gifts,  and  the  splendour  of  their  conver- 
sation, have  appeared  as  stars  of  the  first  magnitude ;  but  a  little 
time  has  discovered  them  to  be  no  more  than  falling  meteors. 
However,  such  dreadful  instances  as  these,  frequently  as  they 
happen,  should  never  be  objected  against  the  truth  of  our  doc- 
trine, which  never  engages  for  the  continuance  of  the  gifts,  or 
of  the  common  operations  of  the  Spirit,  but  only  maintains  the 
final  establishment  of  true  grace.  As  another  work  that  may 
fail,  I  shall  instance, 

(2.)  In  the  outward  2iwdi  visible  state  oi particular  churches. 
By  this,  I  mean  that  outward  fellowship  which  professors  have 
one  with  another,  in  all  the  ordinances  of  the  gospel,  with  the 
external  privileges  and  advantages  belonging  thereunto,  ap- 
pointed and  ordained  of  God,  for  the  mutual  edification  of  his 
people.  This  may  properly  be  termed  a  work  of  God,  not  only 
as  it  is  stamped  with  his  authority,  but  as  every  thing  which 
relates  to  the  state  itself,  together  with  its  happy  and  flourishing 
condition,  depends  upon  his  providence  and  care.  And  this  is 
a  good  work,  ever  erected  with  a  gracious  design. 

But  here  observe,  that  when  the  great  end  for  which  a 
church  state  was  founded,  in  any  particular  place,  is  answered 
in  the  conversion  and  salvation  of  those  whose  spiritual  and 
eternal  advantage  was  to  be  promoted  thereby,  it  may  then  be 
suftered  to  fall  into  decay;  yea,  by  degrees,  as  the  number  of 
the  godly  decreases,  and  in  proportion  as  they  who,  through 
grace,  were  enabled  to  be  faithful,  are  taken  away,  others,  of 


336  OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN   GRACE. 

the  like  gracious  spirit  and  temper,  not  rising  up  in  their  room, 
the  glory  of  that  state  will  certainly  decline ;  and  many,  who 
were  never  effectually  called,  creeping  in  unawares,  the  church, 
at  length,  having  lost  its  upright  members,  becomes  destitute  of 
its  first  love,  and  leaves  its  first  works.  Thus,  instead  of  truth, 
springs  up  error  in  doctrine ;  and,  in  this  sense,  there  will  be  a 
notorious  falling  from  grace,  that  is,  from  the  doctrines  of  grace ; 
and,  in  consequence  of  this,  all  purity  in  worship  is  gradually 
destroyed,  by  increasing  corruption,  till,  at  length,  loose  and 
Hcentious  practices  wholly  exterminate  that  holiness  and  strict- 
ness in  conversation,  which  formerly  prevailed. 

Hereby  God  is  provoked;  and,  when  his  testimonies,  admoni- 
tions, and  warnings  have  been  neglected,  slighted,  and  despised, 
he  comes  and  removes  their  candlestick  out  of  its  place.  Thus 
a  work  that  was  begun  in  mercy  to  some,  is  finally  ruined  in 
judgment  to  others. 

But  yet,  if  the  case  be  rightly  considered,  no  argument  can 
justly  be  taken  from  hence,  with  which  to  oppose  the  doctrine 
of  the  saints'  perseverance  :  for  he  that  holdeth  the  seven  stars 
in  his  right  hand,  will  never  suffer  the  shadow  of  death  to 
stretch  itself  over  the  regions,  where  the  people  dwell,  till  pro- 
vision is  made  for  their  safety.  The  righteous  therefore  shall 
either  be  taken  away  from  the  evil  to  come,  and  be  lodged  in 
the  silent  grave;  or,  by  some  unexpected  turn  in  providence, 
they  shall  be  brought  nearer  the  line,  where  the  gospel  shines 
with  greater  strength  and  beauty;  or  if,  after  all,  any  true 
believer  be  still  left  behind,  he  shall  be  preserved  by  the  special 
care  of  heaven,  though  he  should  be  as  a  mourning  dove,  hid 
in  the  clifts  of  the  rock,  in  the  secret  places  of  the  stairs:  so 
that  however  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit,  or  the  visible  state  of  par- 
ticular churches  may  cease,  yet  the  work  of  true  grace,  with 
which  alone  our  doctrine  is  concerned,  shall  never  fail.  The 
next  remark  is, 

2.  That  the  continuance,  or  establishment  in  grace,  which 
the  Scriptures  assert,  respects  the  state  of  believers,  but  not 
their  frames;  or  it  respects  the  principle  of  grace,  but  not  its 
present  exercise. 

It  is  true,  a  perfection  in  grace  is  designed  hereafter:  the 
saints  shall  then  be  as  the  "  wings  of  a  dove,  covered  with 
silver,  and  her  feathers  with  yellow  gold ;"  their  actings  shall 
then  be  constantly  pure  and  holy,  free  from  all  sinful  mixture 
and  alloy;  no  blemish  shall  spoil  the  glory,  no  defect  shall  mar 
the  beauty  of  their  heavenly  worship.  But,  while  they  are  in 
this  world,  they  lie  among  the  pots;  and,  as  the  word  of  God 
does  not  promise,  so  neither  it  does  so  much  as  allow  the 
expectation  of  a  total  escape  from  all  defilements  here.  Nay, 
their  own  hearts  are  a  constant  seat  of  war,  for  they  have  two 
contending  powers  within;  "  They  have  a  law  in  their  mem- 


OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN   GRACE.  337 

bers,  warring  against  the  law  of  their  minds,"  and  they  are 
sometimes  "  brought  into  captivity  to  the  law  of  sin,  which  is 
in  their  members."  They  are  too  often  foiled  in  particular 
conflicts,  and  sin  too  frequently  gains  a  temporary  ascendant 
over  grace.  Hence  arise  the  daily  miscarriages  which  stain 
the  character  of  the  brightest  saints.  Hence  spring  the  more 
gross  enormities  and  open  transgressions  of  some  believers,  by 
reason  whereof  their  profession  is  slurred,  their  peace  broken, 
their  conscience  wounded,  the  paths  of  religion  are  reproached, 
and  a  stumbling-block  thrown  in  the  way  of  others.  Under  the 
remembrance  and  sense  of  these  things,  some  go  mom'ning  all 
their  days. 

Thus  Christ,  the  Leader  of  his  people,  and  the  Captain  of 
their  salvation,  does  sometimes  suffer  the  enemy  to  take  an 
advantage,  that  He  may  have  the  opportunity  of  displaying  his 
glory,  in  recovering  it  again  at  his  own  pleasure,  to  the  greater 
confusion  and  overthrow  of  his  and  his  people's  adversaries. 
But  still,  in  the  midst  of  all  the  changes,  to  which  the  present 
condition  of  the  saints  is  liable,  there  are  two  things  belonging 
to  their  state,  which  shall  never  fail. 

(1.)  The  saints'  relation  to  God  shall  never  cease. 

The  peculiar  relation  they  stand  in  to  God,  is  that  of  children 
to  a  Father ;  and  such  are  the  glories  of  this  relation,  that  it  is 
founded  upon  the  new  covenant,  and  the  Mediator's  perfect 
atonement.  From  thence  results  the  security  of  their  standing 
in  his  grace,  as  well  as  their  first  access  into  it ;  for  though 
their  iniquities,  which  are  daily  repeated,  highly  deserve  that 
this  relation  should  be  dissolved,  yet  this  judgment  shall  be 
continually  prevented,  through  the  atoning  virtue  of  the  Re- 
deemer's blood.  Thus  much  is  intimated,  when  the  apostle 
shows,  that  God's  resolution  to  take  his  people  into  a  new  and 
peculiar  relation  to  himself,  is  executed  through  the  exercise  of 
his  pardoning  mercy,  Heb.  viii.  10,  12,  for  this  being  settled  as 
the  constant  method  of  his  dispensing  the  grace  of  adoption,  it 
teaches  us  that  justification  and  adoption  are  both  founded  in 
the  blood  of  Christ,  and  inseparably  connected  one  with  the 
other.  And,  shice  these  blessings  are  inseparable,  it  follows, 
that  the  same  promises  which  assure  ns  that  the  justification 
of  the  saints  shall  be  complete  and  perpetual,  do  likewise  assure 
us,  that  their  adoption  shall  be  uninterrupted  and  eternal.  And 
when  God  says,  "I  will  be  merciful  to  their  unrighteousness, 
and  their  sins  and  iniquities  will  I  remember  no  more,"  Heb. 
viii.  10,  12,  it  is  constructively  the  same  as  if  he  had  said,  I  will 
always  be  their  God,  and  they  shall  always  be  my  people ; 
i.  e.  the  relation  shall  continue,  they  shall  be  my  sons  and  my 
daughters,  and  that  for  ever. 

It  must  be  allowed,  indeed,  that  the  children  of  God,  by  their 
frowardness  and  remissness  in  their  walk,  may  provoke  him  to 

43 


338  OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN    GRACE. 

deny  them  tlie  light  of  his  countenance.  He  may  hide  his  face 
for  a  time,  or  he  may  frown  and  make  them  sensible  of  his 
fatherly  displeasure,  yet  the  relation  shall  never  be  extinct. 
God  may  chastise  and  correct  his  children ;  his  compassion  and 
love  will  engage  him  to  do  so ;  but  he  will  never  discard,  or 
cast  them  out  of  his  family.  The  passage  we  meet  with  in 
our  Saviour's  conference  with  the  Jews,  if  taken  as  a  standing 
maxim,  is  a  sufficient  proof  of  this.  The  Son  ahideth  ever. 
The  antithesis  in  the  verse  directs  us  in  the  explication,  and 
shows  that  the  words  are  applicable  to  the  case  before  us,  as 
well  as  to  the  purpose  for  which  our  Lord  produced  them,  John 
viii.  35.  "  The  servant  abideth  not  in  the  house  for  ever ;"  no: 
upon  any  great  otfence,  or  for  repeated  misdemeanours,  he  is 
dismissed,  turned  out  of  doors,  and  the  relation  dissolved  ;  but 
there  is  one  sort  of  treatment  for  servants,  and  another  for 
children.  Wise  and  tender  parents  will  wait  long,  and  try  all 
methods,  to  gain  upon  their  children,  and  win  them  over  unto 
that  subjection  and  obedience  which  is  their  duty:  and  will  not 
the  Lord,  who  is  infinite  in  his  grace  and  love,  exercise  the 
greatest  forbearance  with  his  children  ?  Since  it  is  in  his  power, 
may  it  not  be  expected  that  he  will  melt  them  down,  turn  them 
from  their  evil  ways,  and  effectually  draw  them  with  his  love  ? 
Does  not  his  promise  to  heal  their  hackslidings  suppose  that 
he  will  take  away  their  iniquity,  through  the  blood  of  the  cove- 
nant, and  receive  them  graciously?  Hos.  xiv.  2,  4.  Does  not 
his  promise  of  "putting  his  laws  into  their  mind,  and  of  writing 
them  in  their  hearts,"  Heb.  viii.  10,  engage  that  he  will  make 
them  to  know  wisdom  in  the  hidden  part,  and  teach  them  to 
walk  humbly  with  their  God  ?  And  is  not  their  adoption  con- 
stantly accompanied  v/ith  regeneration,  that,  by  virtue  of  their 
new  nature,  they  may  be  fitted  for  holy  walking  ?  Besides,  the 
design  of  their  adoption  is,  that  it  should  be  "  to  the  praise  of 
the  glory  of  his  grace,"  Eph.  i.  5,  6,  which  it  cannot  be,  unless 
it  be  perpetual.  It  can  never  be  pretended  therefore,  without 
a  flat  contradiction  to  Scripture,  that  any  who  have  been  once 
adopted  into  the  number  of  the  children  of  God,  may  afterward 
fail,  so  as  to  become  the  children  of  the  devil. 

(2.)  The  vital  principle  oi  grace  in  the  saints  shall  never 
fail. 

This  principle  which  is  infused  at  the  instant  of  their  regene- 
ration, shall  continue  and  abide  in  them  for  ever.  The  spiritual 
life  is,  in  some  respects,  like  the  natural,  both  are  liable  to  many 
indispositions,  sicknesses  and  faintings:  and,  as  in  a  swooning 
fit,  for  a  time,  all  natural  sense  and  motion  may  be  gone,  and 
yet  the  life  remain,  so  the  operations  of  grace  may  be  inter- 
rupted, and,  through  the  violence  of  temptation,  the  strength  of 
corruption,  or  some  spiritual  decay,  the  actings  of  grace  may  be 
suspended,  yet  the  principle  of  spiritual  life  does  still  continue. 


OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN   GRACE.  339 

Under  all  witherings  of  true  believers,  the  seed  of  God rettialns 
in  them;  and  his  anointing  does  still  abide,  otherwise  the  pro- 
mise would  fail,  Prov.  xii.  3,  in  which  it  is  engaged  that  the 
root  of  the  righteous  shall  not  be  moved.  Their  bloom  may  be 
sometimes  blighted,  or  their  fruit  blown  off,  and  their  branches 
may  be  tossed  with  tempests,  but  their  root  shall  not  be  moved; 
no,  not  through  any  means,  not  upon  any  occasion,,  nor  by  any 
adversary  whatever;  and  this  because  it  is  the  Lord  who  says, 
"  I  will  keep  it,  I  will  water  it  every  moment,"  Isa.  xxvii.  3. 
And,  from  the  authority  of  such  declarations  of  the  word,  we 
may  venture  positively  to  assert,  that  none  who  have  had  the 
principle  did  ever  lose  it.  Peter's  faith,  though  it  failed  as  to 
its  exercise,  did  yet  continue  as  to  its  principle,  which  imme- 
diately revived,  through  the  assistance  that  came  with  his 
Saviour's  look.  It  would  be  wholly  inconsistent  with  the  suc- 
cess and  prevalency  of  the  Redeemer's  intercession,  to  imagine 
that  the  apostle's  grace  was  totally  lost,  after  his  Lord  had 
prayed  that  his  faith  should  not  fail ;  and  Christ's  intercession, 
which  is  still  carried  on  in  heaven,  is  a  firm  security  for  the 
preservation  of  the  spiritual  life  of  all  believers.  For  wise  and 
holy  ends,  indeed,  he  may  sutfer  them  to  fall,  to  the  breaking 
of  their  bones,  that  they  may  learn  to  be  humble  and  watchful; 
but  the  vital  principle  of  grace  shall  never  be  extinguished ;  for 
their  life,  in  the  fountain  and  original  of  it,  "  is  hid  with  Christ 
in  God,"  Col.  iii.  3,  where  it  is  kept  safe,  out  of  the  reach  of  the 
venomous  darts  of  all  its  deadly  enemies.  This  leads  us  to  the 
last  remark,  which  is, 

3.  That  all  means  necessary  for  the  accomplishing  this  good 
work,  are  under  the  direction  of  God,  and  all  possible  inter- 
vening events,  which  would  threaten  a  disappointment,  are 
subject  to  his  control.  The  means  necessary  for  the  perfecting 
this  work  are  either  external  or  internal. 

(1.)  External.  Among  these  are  included  the  ordinances  of 
the  gospel ;  such  as  the  word,  sacraments,  and  prayer,  which, 
with  all  the  circumstances  that  relate  both  to  their  administra- 
tion, and  the  saints'  attendance  upon  them,  are  under  the  divine 
direction.  And  as  the  Shepherd  of  Israel  knows  where  "he 
feedeth,  where  he  maketh  his  flock  to  rest  at  noon,"  so  he  will 
take  care  that  none  of  his  "  shall  turn  aside  by  the  flocks  of  his 
companions."  Again,  he  knows  what  stated  and  frequent 
attendances  on  the  means  of  grace  are  necessary  for  his  peo- 
ple's growth;  and  he  can  save  them  from  all  confinement,  that 
would  bar  their  approach  to  his  sanctuary,  and  deliver  them 
from  those  allurements  and  snares  that  would  detain  them  from 
duty,  or  divert  them  from  the  paths  of  holiness:  and  he  will 
watch  that  nothing  of  this  khid  shall  prejudice  their  establish- 
ment, or  hinder  their  final  perseverance  in  grace.  Further,  he 
knows  how  long  a  standing  in  the  school  of  Christ,  on  earth,  is 


340  OF    PERSEVERANCE    IN   GRACE. 

necessary  to  fit  and  prepare  for  his  immediate  and  glorious  pre- 
sence in  heaven;  and  he  will  give  his  children  a  due  time,  that 
they  may  have  a  proportional  space  to  go  through  that  course 
of  instruction  and  new  obedience,  that  variety  of  temptation 
and  experience,  which  is  proper  for  their  greater  proficiency 
and  edification  now,  and  their  complete  perfection  in  knowledge 
and  grace  at  last. 

But,  besides  these,  there  are  means  of  another  nature,  abso- 
lutely necessary  for  the  carrying  on  the  work ;  and  these  are, 

(2.)  Internal  and  spiritual;  such  as  the  repeated  actings  of 
faith  and  repentance,  of  hope  and  love,  fresh  hungering  and 
thirsting  after  righteousness,  a  renewed  delighting  in  God,  with 
a  resolved  adherence  to  him,  and  a  fixed  dependence  upon  him. 
These  likewise,  with  the  various  inducements,  incitements,  and 
helps  needful  thereunto,  are  all  under  the  care  of  Him,  who  has 
begun  the  good  work,  and  is  determined  to  bring  it  to  perfec- 
tion. Accordingly  he  blesses  his  people  with  further  anointings 
of  the  Holy  One  ;  "  He  giveth  power  to  the  faint ;  and  to  them 
that  have  no  might,  he  increaseth  strength,"  Isa.  xl.  29.  A 
bountiful  "God  will  supply  all  their  need,"  Phil.  iv.  19,  and 
give  them  all  things  pertaining  to  a  life  of  godliness,  and  with- 
hold no  good  thing,  whether  it  be  food,  correction,  or  healing, 
from  those,  who,  being  once  brought  into  a  state  of  grace,  are 
thus  enabled  to  walk  uprightly,  Psal.  Ixxxiv.  11.  When  their 
souls  cleave  to  dust,  he  will  quicken  them ;  and,  after  all  their 
languishing  in  grace,  he  will  "  make  them  revive  as  the  corn, 
and  grow  as  the  vine,  till  their  scent  shall  be  as  the  wine  of 
Lebanon,"  Hos.  xiv.  7. 

And  as  all  means  are  under  his  direction,  so  all  obstacles  are 
subject  to  his  control. 

Nothing  of  this  kind  can  possibly  occur,  but  it  must  arise 
either  from  the  devil,  world,  or  flesh.  These  are,  indeed,  potent 
and  subtle  enemies ;  yet,  however  they  may  combine  and  unite 
their  force,  they  shall  never  be  able  to  compass  the  ruin  of  the 
saints,  or  hinder  their  complete  salvation.  As  to  the  devil,  he 
is  an  enemy  in  chains,  Jude  ver.  6,  his  power  is  limited ;  and 
"the  God  of  peace  shall  bruise  him  under  their  feet,"  Rom. 
xvi.  20.  As  to  the  world,  when  Christ  gave  himself  for  the  sins 
of  his  people,  it  was  with  a  design  that  they  might  be  "deliv- 
ered from  this  present  evil  world,"  Gal.  i.  4;  and,  though  they 
are  not  taken  out  of  the  world  immediately  after  their  conver- 
sion, yet  our  Lord  has  prayed,  that  they  may  be  "  kept  from 
the  evil,"  John  xvii.  15,  As  to  their  corruptions,  the  most 
dangerous  of  all  their  enemies,  these  shall  be  subdued,  and  no 
sin  suffered  to  have  "the  dominion  over  them,"  Rom.  vi.  14. 
But  they  shall,  at  last,  be  called  "the  holy  people,  the  redeemed 
of  the  Lord,  sought  out,  a  city  not  forsaken,"  Isa.  Ixii.  12.  He 
that  is  their  sun  to  direct,  will  be  their  shield  to  defend  them, 


OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN    GRACE.  341 

Psal.  Ixxxiv.  12.  He  will  "  keep  them  night  and  day,  lest  any 
hurt  them,"  Isa.  xxvii.  3.  "No  weapon  formed  against  them 
shall  ever  prosper,"  Isa.  liv.  17,  for  God  will  fulfil  in  them  "all 
the  good  pleasure  of  his  goodness,  and  the  work  of  faith  with 
power,  that  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  may  be  glorified 
in  them,  and  they  in  him,"  2  Thess.  i.  11, 12,  and  this  notwith- 
standing their  unworthiness,  and  hell-deservings,  according  to 
the  grace  of  our  God,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  for  though  he 
may  lake  vengeance  of  their  inventions,  yet  a  covenant  God 
will  forgive  their  sins,  Psal.  xcix.  8. 

Now,  from  this  state  of  the  case,  we  may  learn  what  is  con- 
tained in  this  doctrine,  and  what  is  not.  Let  us  take  a  sum- 
mary view  of  the  foregoing  remarks,  and  we  may  clearly  see 
these  two  things: 

1.  This  doctrine  does  not  assert  that  men,  who  were  never 
truly  sanctified,  may  not  lose  the  gifts,  the  convictions,  and  illu- 
minations wrought  in  them  by  the  common  operations  of  the 
Spirit  of  God.  It  never  asserts,  that  the  seeming  goodness  of 
men  void  of  grace,  may  not  be  like  the  morning  cloud,  or  the 
early  dew,  which  soon  passeth  away;  or  that  the  shows  of  reli- 
gion, by  which  the  splendid  profession  of  hypocrites  is  supported 
for  a  time,  may  not  fail,  after  all,  and  come  to  nothing:  nor  does 
it  assert,  that  persons,  who  have  only  a  speculative  and  notional 
knowledge  of  the  truths  of  the  gospel,  may  not  change  their 
opinion,  and  fall  from  the  doctrines  of  grace;  nor  that  visible 
churches,  as  such  considered,  may  not  lose  their  first  love,  and 
depart  from  their  first  works;  nor  that  the  children  of  God  them- 
selves may  not  possibly  fall  into  some  open  acts  of  sin,  and  be 
guilty  of  such  partial  backsliding,  as  call  for  the  deepest  humi- 
liation, and  the  most  bitter  lamentation.     But  then, 

2,  This  doctrine  does  maintain,  that  such  as  really  have  a 
good  work  begun  in  them,  shall  never  fall  from  their  spiritual 
and  peculiar  relation  to  God;  they  shall  never  lose  the  vhal 
principle  of  grace,  nor  sink  again  into  a  state  of  corruption  and 
condemnation:  but  these  shall  be  carried  on  in  the  paths  of 
holiness;  they  shall  either  be  wholly  preserved  from  remark- 
able and  scandalous  falls,  or  be  recovered,  and  set  upon  their 
feet  again.  They  shall  be  restored,  healed,  revived,  and  finally 
kept,  through  faith,  unto  salvation;  and  this  shall  be  accom- 
phshed  by  the  mighty  power  of  that  God,  who  has  all  succour, 
relief,  and  assistance,  at  his  command,  and  all  possible  circum- 
stances under  his  control. 

This  is  the  light  in  which,  I  apprehend,  this  doctrine  is  set  in 
the  word  of  God,  wherein  it  is  fully  revealed  and  confirmed  by 
passages  almost  innumerable.  I  shall  now  proceed  to  the  next 
general  head  of  discourse ;  under  which, 

II.  I  shall  produce  some  arguments  for  the  proof  of  this 
doctrine. 


342  OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN   GRACE. 

I  have  hinted  already  that  the  apostle's  method  of  reasoning 
shows  this  to  be  the  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures.  I  shall  here  add, 
as  a  General  Proof,  that  in  them  it  is  taught  with  such  clear- 
ness and  plainness,  that  he  may  run  that  reads.  And  it  is  worth 
our  observing  how  much  the  Scriptures  abound  with  it,  how 
frequently  it  is  introduced,  upon  how  many,  and  what  different 
occasions  it  is  used,  and  with  what  a  variety  of  expression  it  is 
there  set  forth.  Sometimes  it  is  asserted  in  a  way  of  positive 
affirmation,  and  in  a  style  divested  of  all  metaphor:  as  where 
Christ  says,  "He  that  believeth  shall  be  saved,"  Mark  xvi.  16, 
and  "whosoever  believeth  in  me  shall  never  die,"  John  xi,  26. 
Sometimes  it  is  expressed  in  a  figurative  symbolical  manner: 
thus,  "the  path  of  the  just  shall  be  as  the  shining  light,  which 
shineth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day,"  Pro  v.  iv.  18. 
"  The  righteous  shall  hold  on  his  way;  and  he  that  hath  clean 
hands  shall  wax  stronger  and  stronger,"  Job  xvii.  9.  Some- 
times it  is  signified  by  the  guard  that  is  set  over  the  righteous: 
thus  we  read,  that  "  upon  all  the  glory  shall  be  a  defence,"  Isa. 
iv.  5,  and  "  there  shall  no  evil  happen  to  the  just,"  Prov.  xii. 
21.  Surely,  then,  they  shall  not  be  left  to  a  final  apostasy,  the 
worst  and  sorest  evil  that  could  befall  them.  At  other  times, 
this  doctrine  is  referred  to,  as  the  ground  of  the  holy  and  hum- 
ble confidence  of  the  saints,  and  plainly  supposed  as  the  foun- 
dation of  their  comfortable  hope,  their  raised  expectation,  and 
earnest  prayers.  Hence  arose  such  conclusions  and  consequent 
petitions  as  these :  "  The  Lord  will  perfect  that  which  concern- 
eth  me:  thy  mercy,  0  Lord,  endureth  for  ever;  forsake  not  the 
works  of  thine  own  hand,"  Psal.  cxxxviii,  8.  "Thou  shalt 
guide  me  with  thy  counsel,  and  afterwards  receive  me  to  glory," 
Psal,  Ixxiii.  24. 

Here  I  might  quote  many  passages  out  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, in  which  prayers  are  offered  up  for  the  establishment  of 
the  saints;  and  these  prayers  of  the  inspired  writers,  which  are 
recorded  and  delivered  down  as  matter  of  instruction  to  others, 
were  indited  and  directed  by  that  infinitely  blessed  and  glorious 
Spirit,  who  "  searcheth  all  things,  even  the  deep  things  of  God :" 
they  must  certainly  therefore  be  framed  and  formed  in  an  entire 
correspondence  to  the  purpose  and  decrees  of  God,  and  in  an 
exact  consonancy  with  what  he  has  promised  in  the  covenant 
of  grace. 

These  petitions,  then,  are  so  far  from  being  an  objection 
against  this  doctrine,  as  some  would  imagine,  that  they  are  really 
a  strong  argument  for  it;  for  since  the  apostles,  while  under  the 
immediate  guidance  of  the  Spirit,  could  pray  for  nothing  but 
what  was  agreeable  to  the  purpose  of  God;  and  yet  they  did, 
even  at  that  time,  as  appears  from  their  epistles,  pray  for  the 
establishment  of  the  saints;  it  follows,  that  their  establishment 
is  a  thing  agreeable  to  the  divine  counsel.     And  since  these 


OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN    GRACE.  343 

petitions  stand  clear  of  those  expressions  of  submission  which 
attended  their  prayers,  when  events  were  to  them  uncertain, 
the  holy  fervour  and  confidence  with  which  they  are  presented, 
afford  a  good  proof  that  the  apostles  knew  what  they  prayed 
for  herein  to  be  really  agreeable  to  the  purpose  of  God,  and 
consequently  dmt  God  had  declared  and  promised  this  blessing 
in  the  covenant  of  grace. 

As  to  the  pretence,  that  such  an  assurance  of  the  saints'  esta- 
blishment would  have  rendered  their  prayers  needless,  or  that  it 
would  have  been  impertinent  in  them  to  have  prayed  for  that 
which  God  had  promised  and  assured  them  he  would  give ;  this 
can  no  more  alfect  the  prayers  of  the  apostles,  than  it  would 
affect  the  prayer  of  David,  who  was  a  more  proper  judge  of  the 
fitness  of  a  request  to  be  offered  to  God,  than  any  among  us  can 
pretend  to  be;  and  yet  we  find  he  pleaded  for  the  very  thing 
which  God  had  assured  him  should  come  to  pass :  "  Now,  0  Lord 
God,  the  word  which  thou  hast  spoken  concerning  thy  servant, 
and  concerning  his  house,  establish  it  for  ever,  and  do  as  thou 
hast  said,"  2  Sam.  vii.  25. 

In  his  example,  then,  we  have  an  instance  to  prove  that  the 
saints'  assurance  of  God's  intention  to  confer  a  blessing  upon 
them,  did  not  make  them  think  their  prayers  were  needless,  and 
would  be  impertinent-,  and  that  this  assurance,  instead  of  making 
them  remiss  and  negligent  in  their  duty,  as  some  have  suggested, 
will  be  one  of  the  most  powerful  means  of  giving  vigour  and  life 
to  their  supplications.  This  is  also  evident  from  that  expression 
of  David,  where  he  says,  "  For  thou,  0  Lord  of  Hosts,  God  of 
Israel,  hast  revealed  to  thy  servant,  saying,  I  will  build  thee  an 
house,  therefore  hath  thy  servant  found  in  his  heart  to  pray 
this  prayer  unto  thee,"  2  Sam.  vii.  27,  and  so  he  goes  on  in  the 
following  verses,  still  pointing  to  the  promise  upon  which  his 
hope  was  raised,  as  the  special  reason  and  motive,  by  which  his 
importunity  in  prayer  was  quickened. 

And  since  the  way  of  the  Lord  with  his  servants  is  one,  in 
teaching  them  to  regulate  their  prayers  by  his  declarations  of 
mercy,  why  may  we  not  conclude,  that  the  inspired  prayers  of 
the  apostles  were  founded  on  a  divine  revelation  and  promise, 
as  well  as  these  prayers  of  David?  We  may  be  sure  at  least 
that  no  impropriety  in  presenting  requests  upon  such  a  founda- 
tion, can  ever  be  any  just  objection  against  it. 

And  should  this  be  admitted,  yet  it  will  not  follow,  as  some 
would  suggest,  that  then,  from  the  saints'  prayers  for  daily  pro- 
tection and  preservation  from  sin,  it  might  be  inferred,  that 
God  had  promised  them  an  absolute  security  from  all  trans- 
gression. 

This  is  not  a  parallel  case;  for  there  is  a  vast  difference 
between  the  inspired  prayers  of  the  apostles,  and  the  weak  sup- 
plications of  those  who  have  received  the  gifts  and  graces  of 


344  OF    PERSEVERANCE    IN    GRACE. 

the  Spirit,  in  a  much  lower  degree,  and  who,  at  best,  share  in 
his  assistance,  in  a  very  imperfect  measure,  even  such  as  leaves 
them  subject  to  many  failures  in  their  prayers,  as  well  as  in 
any  other  part  of  their  conduct. 

We  may  also  observe,  that  the  daily  petitions  of  the  saints 
for  protection  from  sin,  are  grounded  upon  general  promises 
and  declarations  in  the  word,  that  "  sin  shall  not  have  dominion 
over  them,"  Rom.  vi.  14,  that  "the  Lord  knows  how  to  deliver 
the  godly  out  of  temptation,"  2  Pet.  ii.  9,  and  that  "  God,  who 
is  faithful,  will  not  suffer  them  to  be  tempted  above  that  they 
are  able,  but  will,  with  the  temptation,  also  make  a  way  to 
escape,  that  they  may  be  able  to  bear  it,"  1  Cor.  x.  13.  And 
all  these  prayers  of  the  saints,  put  up  in  faith  and  hope,  shall 
be  answered,  either  in  kind,  or  in  value;  either  they  shall  have, 
in  particular  instances,  the  protection  they  ask,  and  be  pre- 
served from  committing  the  transgression,  against  which  they 
pray,  or  the  sin  shall  be  pardoned  through  the  Redeemer's 
blood,  and  they  recovered  from  it  with  greater  advantage,  their 
strength  being  renewed,  and  their  experience  of  his  grace 
enlarged. 

But  if  a  final  perseverance  should  not  be  granted,  then  all 
their  prayers  would  be  lost;  and  not  theirs  only,  but  the  prayers 
of  the  inspired  writers  on  their  behalf;  for,  should  they  miss  of 
this  favour,  no  after  blessing  could  be  found  to  countervail  the 
loss,  which,  by  a  final  apostasy,  they  must  sustain.  But  this 
shall  never  be  the  case  of  any  of  the  saints;  for  the  way  of  the 
Lord,  which  has  been  kindness  and  mercy  in  promising  salva- 
tion, shall  likewise  be  faithfulness  and  truth,  Psal.  xxv.  10,  in 
the  performance  of  it. 


SERMON  IL 

PmupriANS  i.  6. — Being  confident  of  this  very  thing,  that  he  which  hath  begun 
a  good  work  in  you,  will  perform  it  until  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ. 

After  I  had  explained  the  words  of  the  text,  in  the  former  dis- 
course, I  raised  this  doctrinal  observation. 

That  the  good  tvork  of  grace  shall  be  invincibly  carried  on 
to  perfection  in  all  the  saints. 

I  then  stated  the  point,  and  gave  a  general  proof  of  it,  by 
observing  how  frequently  this  doctrine  is  mentioned  in  Scrip- 
ture. I  shall  proceed  now  to  consider  some  particular  argu- 
ments to  support  it.  The  chief  I  shall  insist  upon  shall  be 
drawn  from  the  following  heads.  1.  The  immutability  of  the 
purpose  and  promise  of  God.  2.  The  Redeemer's  care  over 
his  people,  with  his  peculiar  relation  unto,  and  union  with  them. 


OF   PERSEVERANCE   IN   GRACE.  345 

3.  The  constant  residence  and  inhabitation  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in 
the  souls  of  believers. 

Isi.  I  shall  consider  the  imrniit ability  of  the  purpose  and 
promise  of  God,  as  one  argument  for  the  proof  of  this  doctrine. 

The  harmonious  agreement  which  there  is  between  these 
two,  makes  it  needless  here  to  speak  to  them  apart;  for  as  the 
promise  is  a  declaration  of  the  counsel  of  God,  so  a  declaration 
of  his  counsel  in  this  matter  is  equivalent  to  a  promise.  And  if, 
for  brevity  sake,  I  should,  under  this  head,  wave  the  distinction, 
and  consider  them  together;  or  if  I  should  promiscuously  call 
one  by  the  name  of  the  other,  it  will  not,  I  think,  in  the  least 
affect  the  argument. 

That  I  may  still  contract  the  more,  I  shall  presume  upon  some 
things  which  lie  as  the  foundation  of  our  reasoning;  but  shall 
be  careful  herein  not  to  exceed  what,  I  apprehend,  would  be 
allowed  by  those  of  the  contrary  scheme.  The  things  then 
which  I  take  for  granted  are  these ;  namely,  that  the  declarations 
of  grace,  made  in  the  word  of  God,  are  to  be  the  only  rule  of 
our  faith,  and  the  just  and  adequate  foundation  of  our  hope  in 
all  matters  that  respect  the  welfare  of  the  saints  in  time,  and  to 
eternity.     Further, 

I  presume  it  will  be  allowed,  that  there  are  many  promises  in 
the  word  of  God  which  relate  to  the  saints'  perseverance  in  grace, 
and  that  these  promises  shall  be  made  good,  according  to  the 
meaning  and  design  of  Him  that  gave  them.  As  to  the  present 
argument,  therefore,  the  proof  of  our  doctrine  depends  upon  a 
right  interpretation,  and  due  application  of  the  promises ;  and 
this  shows  it  to  be  my  proper  business,  under  this  head,  to  make 
out  these  two  propositions:  1.  That  final  perseverance  is  pro- 
mised in  the  word  of  God.  2.  That  the  promises  wherein  this 
is  contained,  are  applicable  to  all  believers. 

1.  Final  perseverance  is ^romz'tset/ in  the  word  of  God.  If  we 
look  into  the  promises,  we  shall  quickly  find,  that  among  other 
articles  of  spiritual  blessings,  this  privilege  of  the  saints'  perse- 
verance is  one  really  comprehended  and  ascertained.  For  an 
instance  hereof,  I  shall  name  the  text  where  the  apostle  declares, 
that  "  The  Lord  hath  said,  I  shall  never  leave  thee,  nor  forsake 
thee,"  Heb.  xiii.  5.  That  we  may  interpret  these  words  in  a 
consistence  with  their  context,  and  with  other  parts  of  divine  re- 
velation, as  well  as  with  the  special  design  for  which  they  are 
quoted  and  used  by  the  apostle,  it  will  be  proper  to  observe,  in 
some  instances,  what  is  not  included  in  them,  and  then  declare 
more  directly  what  their  meaning  must  be. 

We  may  he  confident,  these  words  could  never  mean,  that, 
through  the  presence  of  God  with  his  people,  they  should  have 
an  exemption  from  all  straits  and  ditiict.ilties  in  the  world,  or 
from  inward  temptations,  any  more  than  outward ;  nor  that  they 
should  be  absolutely  preserved  from  sinning,  any  more  than 

44 


346  OF   PERSEVERANCE  IN   GRACE. 

from  being  tempted  to  sin.  Such  a  construction  is  peremptorily 
forbidden,  by  several  expressions  in  the  context,  which  shows, 
that,  among  those  who  had  an  interest  in  the  promise,  some 
"  were  in  bonds,  and  did  suffer  adversity,"  while  others  who 
enjoyed  an  outward  prosperity,  were  tempted  to  "  covetousness 
in  their  conversation ;"  and  it  would  be  a  weakness  to  imagine, 
that  in  the  midst  of  these  many  temptations,  they  did  wholly 
escape  all  inward  defilement.  The  words  therefore  could  never 
be  intended  to  engage  for  a  present  exemption  from  such  evils 
as  these. 

Their  meaning  then  must  be,  that  the  saints  should  never  be 
wholly  deserted,  nor  utterly  abandoned  by  the  Lord.  His  pro- 
mise "  never  to  forsake  them,"  must  be  supposed  to  signify, 
that  he  would  be  ever  with  them  as  their  covenanted  God  and 
Father,  through  his  Son;  that  he  would  ever  appear  in  his 
own  way,  on  their  behalf,  and  exert  himself  in  his  all-suffi- 
ciency, according  to  his  infinite  wisdom,  power,  and  love,  to 
support  and  comfort  them  in  their  afflictions,  to  relieve  them 
under  their  temptations,  or  to  revive  and  restore  them  after 
they  had  fallen.  It  means,  that  though  they  might  not  always 
have  him  in  their  sight,  yet  he  would  be  ever  with  them,  by  his 
gracious  and  his  holy  presence,  to  prevent  their  total  apostasy, 
and  to  secure  their  final  perseverance  in  grace,  till  they  are 
brought  safe  to  glory. 

And  this  explication  is  entirely  agreeable  to  many  other  pas- 
sages in  Scripture ;  particularly  to  those  words  of  the  apostle, 
where  he  expressly  asserts,  "  that  the  Lord  shall  establish  his 
people,  and  keep  them  from  evil,"  2  Thess.  hi.  3.  And  again, 
to  what  he  says  in  another  place,  where,  after  he  prays  for  the 
Thessalonians,  that  "  their  whole  spirit,  soul,  and  body,  be  pre- 
served blameless  unto  the  coming  of  Christ,"  he  presently  adds, 
"  faithful  is  he  that  calleth  you,  who  also  will  do  it,"  1  Thess. 
V.  23,  24.  And  this  infallible  declaration  being  immediately 
subjoined,  the  apostle's  petition  is  thereby  advanced  beyond 
all  contradiction,  into  the  full  significancy  of  an  heavenly  pro- 
mise. 

Thus  you  see  a  final  perseverance  in  grace  is  fully  compre- 
hended and  ascertained  in  the  promise  and  purpose  of  God; 
and  it  is  needless  here  to  produce  any  further  proof  of  this 
kind;  only,  before  I  quit  this  head,  I  am  obliged  to  observe,  as 
to  the  passages  last  quoted  from  the  epistles  to  the  Thessalo- 
nians, that  though  they  come  up  fully  to  our  present  purpose, 
yet  they  will  not  bear  such  a  construction  as  would  make  them 
prove  too  much.  This,  indeed,  has  been  the  pretence  of  some, 
who  tell  us,  that  either  they  must  promise  an  absolute  freedom 
from  all  evil  in  this  present  state,  or  they  cannot  be  taken  abso- 
lutely to  promise  an  escape  from  any  evil  at  all.  Thus  some, 
by  stretching  the  meaning  of  these  texts  too  far,  have  attempted 


OF   PERSEVERANCE   IN   GRACE.  347 

to  weaken  their  force,  that  they  might  not  stand  in  such  a  fit 
condition  for  the  defence  of  our  doctrine,  as  their  just  exphca- 
tion  would  fairly  leave  them.  But  the  guard  with  which  the 
words  are  surrounded  in  their  respective  contexts,  is  abun- 
dantly sufficient  to  overrule  the  extravagance  of  such  a  wild 
construction;  and  our  argument  remains  after  all,  m  its  full 
strength,  to  answer  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  produced:  for, 
in  one  of  the  places,  the  apostle  desires  the  prayers  of  the  Thes- 
salonians  for  his  own  deliverance  from  outward  troubles;  and 
in  the  other  he  presents  his  prayers  for  them,  that  they  may  be 
wholly  sanctified.  These  passages  are  a  good  clue  to  lead  us 
into  the  true  meaning  of  these  promises,  and  do  unanswerably 
determine  their  sense  to  be  this,  viz.  That  though  the  Lord 
may  suffer  his  children  to  be  in  trouble,  as  the  apostle  himself 
then  was;  or  though  he  may  leave  them  to  fall  into  sin,  as  will 
be  frequently  the  case,  while  they  are  sanctified  but  in  part, 
yet  he  will  infallibly  keep  them  safe  from  all  such  evils,  as 
would  prevent  their  progress  to  a  final  perfection  in  holiness, 
or  bar  their  appearing  at  last  without  blame  before  him  in 
love.  I  come  now  to  the  second  proposition  advanced,  which 
is  that, 

2.  These  promises  are  applicable  to  all  believers.  This  will 
be  evident,  if  we  consider  that  every  true  believer  answers  the 
characters  by  which  the  word  describes  the  persons  to  whom 
these  promises  do  belong,  and  for  whose  salvation  the  promises 
do  engage.  For  instance :  are  they  described  by  their  trusting 
in  God,  as  where  the  Psalmist  says,  "They  that  trust  in  the 
Lord  shall  be  as  moimt  Zion,  which  cannot  be  removed,  but 
abideth  for  ever?"  Psal.  cxxv.  1.  This  part  of  the  character  is 
ever  found  with  true  believers:  it  is  an  essential  property  of 
faith,  to  be  trusting  in  the  Lord.  Faith  teaches,  directs,  and,  so 
far  as  it  prevails,  it  enables  the  soul  of  a  believer  to  trust  God 
in  the  way  of  his  covenant.  He  trusts  God  with  all  his  con- 
cerns, whether  relating  to  soul  or  body:  he  trusts  in  him  for 
all  the  blessings  and  benefits  which  he  has  promised  to  give, 
through  his  Son,  that  his  people  may  be  safe,  easy,  and  com- 
fortable here,  as  well  as  happy,  blessed,  and  glorious  hereafter: 
and  where  there  is  no  trusting  in  God,  there  is  no  faith. 

Again,  are  the  heirs  of  the  promise  described  by  their  humi- 
lity, as  where  it  is  said,  "  the  Lord  giveth  grace  unto  the  hum- 
ble?" James  iv.  6.  As  to  this,  there  can  be  no  more  certain 
evidence  of  true  humility,  than  a  man's  quitting  his  own  right- 
eousness, his  renouncing  all  confidence  in  the  fiesh,  and  truly 
submitting  himself  to  be  saved  entirely  and  only  by  the  right- 
eousness of  Christ,  and  the  strength  of  his  Redeemer.  Nor  can 
there  be  a  more  manifest  proof  of  true  humility,  than  a  believ- 
er's deliberate,  resolved,  and  cheerful  resignation  of  himself  to 


348  OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN    GRACE. 

the  command,  conduct,  and  disposal  of  his  heavenly  Lord  and 
Master. 

Once  more ;  are  the  heirs  of  the  promise  described  by  their 
affection  and  love  to  Christ;  as  where  the  apostle  says,  "  Grace 
be  with  all  them  that  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity?" 
Eph.  vi.  24.  What  clearer  proof  can  there  be  of  an  hearty 
afiection  to  the  dear  Redeemer,  than  a  person's  sacrificing  his 
most  beloved  lust  and  corruption,  and  his  suffering  the  loss  of 
those  things,  which  are  dearest  to  the  flesh,  that  he  may  win 
Christ,  and  be  found  faithful  in  his  adherence  to  him? 

And  are  not  all  these  things  wrought  by  the  Spirit  in  the 
heart  of  every  believer?  Do  they  not,  in  fact,  enter  the  character 
of  all  the  saints?  We  may  therefore  justly  infer,  that  the  saints 
are  all  interested  in  the  promises  which  engage  for  a  final  per- 
severance, and  consequently  they  shall  be  as  mount  Sion,  which 
cannot  be  removed. 

And,  since  this  must  be  understood  of  a  continuance  in  a  state 
of  grace,  we  may  learn,  from  hence,  that  all  the  cautions  and 
threatenings,  all  the  commands  and  exhortations  in  Scripture, 
which  have  any  reference  to  persons  "continuing  in  the  faith, 
or  their  holding  the  beginning  of  their  confidence  steadfast  to 
the  end,"  should  never  be  so  interpreted,  as  to  clash  with  these, 
and  the  like  clear  and  full  declarations  of  the  word.  But  this  is 
evidently  done,  when  those  cautions  and  exhortations  are  pre- 
tended to  be  so  many  pregnant  evidences,  that  a  true  believer 
may  fall  from  a  state  of  grace;  or  when  they  are  reckoned 
plain  indications,  that  God  hath  made  no  absolute  decree,  or 
promise,  that  he  shall  not  do  so. 

However,  it  may  be  a  happy  means  of  preserving  us  from 
the  bad  influence  of  such  a  mistaken  interpretation,  if  we  care- 
fully observe  how  much  the  Scriptures  abound  with  promises 
of  this  kind,  as  I  have  shown  in  my  former  discourse,  under  the 
general  proof  of  the  point.  But,  for  the  further  confirmation  of 
the  argument,  which  has  now  been  insisted  upon,  I  shall  here 
add  a  few  remarks  concerning  the  promises  of  salvation  made 
to  believers, 

(1.)  The  salvation  which  is  promised,  must  be  meant  of  an 
eternal  salvation.  Accordingly  when  Christ  says,  "  He  that 
believeth  in  me,  shall  never  die,"  John  xi,  26,  and  "  he  that 
believeth,  shall  be  saved,"  Mark  xvi,  16,  the  meaning  is,  such 
shall  be  blessed  with  eternal  life,  with  eternal  salvation. 

(2.)  These  promises  are  made  to  believers  as  such.  They 
respect  not  the  strength  or  the  high  degree  of  faith,  but  the 
truth  of  it ;  and  are  therefore  applicable  to  persons  upon  their 
first  entrance  into  a  state  of  grace.  The  denomination  of  the 
persons  to  whom  they  belong,  is  founded  on  that  change  of 
state,  and  on  those  vital  actings  of  the  new  creature,  which  are 


OF   PERSEVERANCE   IN   GRACE.  349 

common  to  all  who  are  born  again.  He  that  has  been  quick 
ened  and  enabled  to  perform  those  essential  actings  of  faith, 
which  relate  to  the  receiving  Christ  as  the  Lord  his  righteous- 
ness and  strength,  is  truly  a  believer,  and,  in  this  sense,  as  much 
a  believer,  as  he  who  has  had  a  further  growth  in  grace  ;  and 
consequently  they  that  are  weak  in  faith,  have  the  same  interest 
in  the  promise,  as  they  that  are  strong. 

(3.)  These  promises  comprehend  an  inseparable  connexion 
between  trxie  faith  and  eternal  salvation.  This  must  be 
granted ;  or  the  absolute  truth  of  the  proposition,  in  which  the 
promise  is  contained,  must  be  denied.  If  the  possibility  of  a 
believer's  missing  of  salvation  must  be  allowed,  the  absolute- 
ness of  the  truth  of  the  promise  will  be  destroyed ;  for  it  might 
then  be  said.  He  that  believeth  may  not  be  saved.  And  were 
it  certain  that  any  believers  would,  in  fact,  fall  from  grace,  and 
perish  at  last,  it  might  be  indifferently  affirmed,  with  equal 
truth,  some  believers  shall  be  saved,  and  some  shall  not.  The 
construction  that  might  then  be  put  upon  the  proclamation  of 
grace,  and  grant  of  salvation  made  to  believers  in  the  promise, 
would  amount  to  little  more  than  this:  He  that  believeth  may 
be  saved.  The  matter  would  thus  rest  on  probability  only; 
and  what  does  so,  may  never  come  to  pass.  Thus,  according 
to  the  scheme  which  pleads  for  a  possibility  of  falling  from 
grace,  the  salvation  of  believers  is  reduced  to  an  uncertainty 
at  least.  But  this  is  what  the  style  of  several  of  the  promises 
will  by  no  means  admit  of;  which  runs  thus :  "  He  that  believeth 
shall  not  come  into  condemnation,"  John  v.  24.  "  He  shall 
not  be  confounded."  1  Pet.  ii.  6.  "  He  shall  not  be  ashamed." 
Rom.  ix.  33.  No  such  interpretation  of  the  promises  as  that 
scheme  requires,  can  suit  with  the  language  of  Scripture  in 
this  affair,  or  support  the  certainty  of  those  glorious  declara- 
tions, which  tell  us,  that  they  who  believe  are  "  passed  from 
death  unto  life,"  John  v.  24,  that  "  he  that  hath  the  Son  hath 
life,"  1  John  v.  12,  yea,  "he  that  believeth  on  the  Son,  hath 
everlasting  life,"  John  iii.  36,  "  and  these  things  have  I  written 
unto  you  that  believe  on  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God,  that  ye 
may  know  that  ye  have  eternal  life."  1  John  v.  13.  It  follows, 
that, 

(4.)  These  promises  of  salvation  must  be  understood  to  give 
an  assurance  of  the  believer's  final  perseverance. 

Just  as  when  God  promised  Abraham,  Gen.  xvii,  8,  that  his 
seed  should  inherit  the  land  of  Canaan,  he  did  thereby  engage 
to  give  Abraham  a  seed,  to  raise  up  his  posterity,  and  protect 
them  through  all  surrounding  dangers,  till  they  were  put  into 
the  possession  of  the  promised  land.  In  like  manner,  by  God's 
promising  salvation  to  believers,  he  engages  for  every  thing 
necessary  to  its  being  obtained;  and  a  final  perseverance  in 
grace,  being,  as  all  allow,  indispensably  necessary  thereunto, 


350  OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN    GRACE. 

his  promise  of  salvation  must  be  construed  to  carry  in  it  an 
inviolable  engagement  for  that  in  particular. 

Let  these  considerations  be  duly  weighed,  and  it  will  appear 
to  be  wrong  in  any  to  make  the  believer's  continuing  in  faith, 
such  a  condition  of  his  salvation,  as  shall  render  this  a  matter 
of  suspense,  or  his  falling  from  grace,  a  thing  that  is  possible  : 
the  solemn  engagements  of  the  Lord  himself  being  an  infal- 
lible security  for  the  one,  and  an  immovable  guard  against  the 
other. 

Hence  it  appears,  that  believers  have  good  reason  to  remain 
unshaken  in  their  holy  confidence;  that  when  God  has  once  put 
his  covenant  fear  into  the  hearts  of  any,  such  shall  not  be  suf- 
fered to  depart  from  him,  Jer.  xxxii.  40,  no,  but  he  who  has 
infused  the  principle  of  grace,  will  preserve  it,  cause  it  to  spring, 
and  make  it  thrive;  for  he  has  promised  "  to  be  as  the  dew  unto 
Israel:  he  shall  grow  as  the  lily,  and  cast  forth  his  roots  as 
Lebanon,"  Hos.  xiv.  5. 

Nor  should  we  suffer  these,  or  the  like  promises,  to  be  wrested 
out  of  our  hands,  nor  our  souls  to  be  deprived  of  the  comfort  of 
them,  though  it  should  be  suggested  that  those  words  did  respect 
a  national  blessing,  since  their  particular  and  special  application 
to  the  case  of  every  believer  is  warranted  by  our  Lord  himself, 
where  he  says,  "For  whosoever  hath,  to  him  shall  be  given, 
and  he  shall  have  more  abundance,"  Mat.  xiii.  12;  as  like- 
wise by  the  professed  declaration  of  the  design  of  his  coming, 
which  was  not  only  that  his  people  "  might  have  life,  but  that 
they  might  have  it  more  abundantly,"  John  x.  10. 

And,  through  a  becoming  faith  in  the  immutability  and  cer- 
tainty of  these  and  many  other  promises  and  declarations  of  the 
Avord,  we  may  be  assured,  that  no  true  believer  ever  did,  or 
ever  shall,  fall  from  a  state  of  grace ;  but,  in  what  happy  soul 
soever  the  good  work  is  once  begun,  it  shall  be  carried  on  and 
completed. 

As  a  further  proof  of  this,  let  us  proceed  to  another  head  of 
argument,  proposed  to  be  insisted  upon:  namely, 

2dly.  The  Redeemer's  care  over  his  people,  together  with 
his  peculiar  relation  unto,  and  union  with  them.  I  shall  con- 
sider this  head  distinctly  under  two  branches;  and  shall  take 
notice, 

1.  Of  Christ's  care  over  his  people.  We  may  observe,  that 
several  of  the  titles  given  to  the  Mediator,  are  such  as  denote  a 
charge  or  trust  committed  to  him ;  as  where  he  is  termed  "  God's 
servant,"  Isa.  xlii.  1,  "the  messenger  of  the  covenant,"  Mai. 
iii.  1,  "the  apostle  and  high-priest  of  our  profession,"  Heb.  iii. 
1,  &c.  When  our  Lord  was  upon  earth,  he  constantly  acknow- 
ledged that  he  acted  as  Mediator,  by  commission  from  his 
Father;  that  he  "came  down  from  heaven,  not  to  do  his  own 
will,  but  the  will  of  him  that  sent  him,"  John  vi.  38.   Now,  the 


OF   PERSEVERANCE   IN   GRACE.  351 

purport  of  his  commission  is  summed  up  by  himself,  when  he 
says,  "  This  is  the  Father's  will,  which  hath  sent  me;  that  of 
all  which  he  hath  given  me,  I  should  lose  nothing,  but  should 
raise  it  up  again  at  the  last  day,"  John  vi.  39.  That  his  people 
might  have  the  comfort  of  knowing  that  their  salvation  was 
included  in  his  charge,  when  he  repeats  the  declaration  in  the 
next  verse,  he  varies  his  terms,  saying,  "  This  is  the  will  of  him 
that  sent  me,  that  every  one  that  seeth  the  Son  and  believeth 
on  him,  may  have  everlasting  life,"  ver.  40,  i.  e.  may  certainly 
have  it.     This  was  the  design  of  the  trust  committed  to  him. 

But  for  this,  even  for  the  whole  of  it,  did  he  engage,  when  he 
said,  "  I  will  raise  him  up  at  the  last  day,"  ver.  40.  And  his 
positive  engagement  for  that  event  must  imply  an  engagement 
for  his  people's  final  perseverance  in  grace ;  this  being  of  such 
absolute  necessity,  that  without  it  they  could  not  be  raised  to 
life  everlasting.  Now,  we  may  strongly  argue,  from  our  Sa- 
viour's faithfulness,  that  as  he  will  never  suffer  any  to  pluck  his 
people  out  of  his  hand,  so  neither  will  he  suffer  them  to  fall  out 
of  it,  through  any  folly  or  madness  of  their  own.  He  has  ex- 
pressly said,  concerning  his  sheep,  "■'  I  give  unto  them  eternal 
life,  and  they  shall  never  perish ;  neither  shall  any  pluck  them 
out  of  my  hand,"  John  x.  28.  After  this,  should  it  ever  happen 
that  any  of  his  flock  did  perish,  it  would  equally  slur  the  glory 
of  his  word,  whether  their  destruction  was  effected  by  an  open 
enemy,  or  by  something  in  themselves.  Besides,  it  was  their 
proneness  to  wander  from  God,  that  was  one  special  reason  of 
the  Father's  appointing,  and  of  Christ's  undertaking  the  office 
of  a  shepherd  to  watch  over  them.  And  if,  after  all  his  special 
and  his  solemn  engagements  for  their  safety,  they  should  any 
of  them  perish  at  last,  then  the  honour  of  his  office,  and  the 
glory  of  his  faithfulness  must  fall  to  the  ground.  But  this,  we 
are  sure,  can  never  be. 

This  text,  then,  does  strongly  conclude  for  the  doctrine  of  the 
saints'  perseverance;  and  this  will  appear  more  fully  still,  if  we 
observe,  that  the  words  must  be  understood  to  respect  the  safety 
of  Christ's  sheep,  in  their  passage  through  this  wilderness;  for 
it  would  by  no  means  suit  with  the  perfection  and  glory  of 
heaven  to  apply  the  declaration  in  the  latter  part  of  the  verse, 
"  Neither  shall  any  pluck  them  out  of  my  hand,"  to  the  saints 
in  that  state,  as  some  would  have  it.  Since  no  unclean  thing 
can  so  much  as  enter  into  the  New  Jerusalem,  we  may  be  con- 
fident no  daring  adversary  can  ever  appear  there  to  make  so 
bold  an  attempt.  This  shows  that  all  propriety  of  interpretation 
would  be  lost,  should  Christ's  promise  to  blast  all  attempts  for 
his  people's  ruin,  be  understood  to  relate  to  those  upper  regions, 
in  which  no  such  attempts  can  possibly  be  made. 

We  may  further  observe,  that  though,  in  the  beginning  of  the 
verse,  Christ  speaks  of  his  giving  his  sheep  eternal  life ;  yet  even 


352  OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN   GRACE. 

this  expression  will  be  of  no  service  to  determine,  as  the  same 
persons  will  have  it,  that  the  security  there  promised  must  be 
deferred  till  the  saints  shall  come  to  the  uninterrupted  felicity 
of  the  world  above.  For  this  passage  may  be  understood  of 
Christ's  effectually  calling  his  people  into  a  state  of  grace,  and 
of  his  bringing  them  into  the  real  enjoyment  of  communion  with 
God;  and  thus  of  his  giving  them  the  beginning  of  eternal  life, 
even  in  this  world.  Such  an  explication  would  be  very  agree- 
able to  matters  of  fact,  and  consonant  to  other  places,  where  it 
is  said,  "He  that  believeth  on  the  Son,  hath  everlasting  life;" 
and  then  all  pretence  for  understanding  the  safety  promised  in 
the  text,  to  relate  principally  to  the  heavenly  state,  would  be 
wholly  precluded.  But  granting  the  phrase  should  here  be 
understood  of  the  future  blessedness,  it  will  then  show  us  what 
shall  certainly  be  the  result  and  issue  of  our  Saviour's  present 
care  over  his  flock,  but  will  still  be  far  from  suggesting  that  his 
sheep  must  first  be  received  into  glory,  before  they  shall  share 
in  his  protection. 

Thus  you  see,  that  notwithstanding  all  the  endeavours  of 
some  to  bear  down  the  testimony  of  this  scripture,  yet,  upon  a 
fair  construction  and  due  consideration  of  it,  we  might  venture 
the  proof  of  our  doctrine  to  rest  upon  its  single  evidence. 

2.  I  shall  next  take  notice  of  Christ's  relation  to  the  saints, 
and  his  n7iioii  with  them. 

Each  of  these  particulars  would  bear  a  distinct  consideration; 
but,  since  the  blessings  themselves  are  inseparable,  I  shall  blend 
them  together  under  this  head,  and  briefly  show  in  what  light 
these  things  are  set  in  the  word  of  God,  and  what  deductions 
pertinent  to  our  present  subject  may  be  drawn  from  them. 

There  are  many  images  made  use  of  in  Scripture,  by  which 
the  nearness  of  this  relation,  and  the  strictness  of  this  union  are 
represented.  The  places  in  which  they  are  contained,  are 
abundantly  known:  such,  for  instance,  as  these,  where  it  is 
said,  for  the  comfort  and  encouragement  of  the  church,  that 
"her  Maker  is  her  Husband,"  Isa.  liv.  5;  "her  Saviour  is  her 
Head,"  Eph.  v.  23.  And  this  not  in  a  political  sense,  merely 
as  a  prince  is  the  head  of  his  subjects,  but  in  allusion  to  the 
natural  sense  of  the  word.  Accordingly  believers  are  expressly 
termed  the  "  members  of  Christ's  body,  of  his  flesh,  and  of  his 
bones,"  verse  30.  Again,  he  is  said  to  be  "  the  vine,  they  the 
branches,"  John  xv.  5. 

From  such  passages  and  comparisons  as  these,  I  apprehend, 
we  may  justly  infer  that  there  cannot  be  a  stricter  union  be- 
tween any  two  things  in  the  world,  than  there  is  between  Christ 
and  his  people:  further,  that  this  union  respects  every  par- 
ticular believer.  And  in  consequence  hereof,  he  has  such  a 
communion  with  Christ,  as  will  infallibly  secure  his  standing 
in  grace.     All  the  saints  having  communion  with  Christ  in  his 


OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN   GRACE.  353 

death,  their  iniquities,  by  which  the  presence  of  God,  and  the 
renewed  suppUes  and  succours  of  his  grace  are  forfeited,  shall 
be  pardoned.  He  being  wounded  for  their  transgressions,  and 
the  chastisement  of  their  peace  being  laid  upon  him,  by  his 
stripes  they  are  and  shall  be  healed.  Through  the  virtue  of  his 
death,  then,  all  the  blessings  of  the  covenant  are  properly  con- 
stituted and  confirmed  to  be  the  sure  mercies  of  David.  Again, 
having  communion  with  him  in  his  life,  he,  who  is  their  Head 
of  righteousness,  is  also  their  Head  of  vital  influence,  from 
whom  strength  is  derived,  according  to  his  effectual  working  in 
every  part  of  his  mystical  body;  and  this  communication  shall 
be  according  to  the  measure  that  is  best  suited  to  answer  every 
design  intended  by  their  present  establishment  and  final  salva- 
tion. 

Nothing  short  of  the  believer's  expectation  and  assured  hope 
of  this  salvation  at  last,  can  be  a  proper  return  for  some  of 
Christ's  last  breathings;  when  he  said  to  his  disciples,  for  the 
encouragement  and  comfort  of  all  his  people,  "Because  I  live, 
ye  shall  live  also,"  John  xiv.  19.  Which  words  are  a  just 
foundation,  whereupon  to  build  an  assurance  that  believers  can 
no  more  fall  from  their  relation  to  Christ,  and  that  state  of  grace 
into  which  he  has  called  them,  than  Christ  himself  can  be 
plucked  out  of  his  throne,  or  fall  from  his  glory. 

Some,  indeed,  would  insinuate,  that  though  his  people  shall 
never  perish,  through  any  defect  on  his  part,  for  he  will  be 
faithful  to  them  while  they  abide  faithful  to  him;  yet  believers, 
being  not  natural,  but  mystical  members,  may  therefore  cut  off 
themselves,  and  so  perish.  But  to  this,  and  all  suggestions  of 
the  like  kind,  I  think  a  just  and  full  reply  may  be  given  from 
the  truths  we  have  now  advanced ;  for  Christ's  headship  is  not 
an  empty  title ;  nor  are  his  relations  mere  insignificant  names, 
but  these  are  eminently  filled  up  with  that  divine  affection, 
tenderness,  and  compassion,  which  infinitely  transcends  the 
highest  degree  of  love  and  pity  that  can  be  found  with  the 
nearest  and  dearest  relations  in  the  world.  We  may  therefore 
conclude,  that  a  woman,  yea,  that  the  most  tender  and  affec- 
tionate among  women,  may  sooner  forget  her  sucking  child, 
and,  through  want  of  compassion  to  the  fruit  of  her  body,  ne- 
glect either  the  food  or  medicines  necessary  for  its  nourishment 
and  preservation,  than  Christ  can  forget  or  forsake  any  of  his 
members,  Isa.  xlix.  15.  There  can  be  no  room  to  doubt  but 
he  will  be  ever  mindful  of  them,  to  uphold  and  establish  them, 
"forgiving  all  their  iniquities,  and  healing  all  their  diseases," 
Psal.  ciii.  3. 

Were  we  to  consider  Christ  as  a  Shepherd  only,  we  might, 
from  thence,  infer  the  perpetual  security  and  eternal  safety  of 
all  his  people;  for,  should  his  sheep  fall  as  the  prey  of  wolves^ 
or  as  the  spoil  of  robbers,  or  should  thev  perish  through  a 

45 


C.54  OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN   GRACE. 

spreading  scab,  or  their  own  wanderings,  the  damage  and  loss 
would  be  still  the  same.  We  may  be  confident,  therefore,  not 
a  sheep  of  his  shall  perish  by  one  of  these  means,  more  than  by 
another. 

But,  when  we  consider  the  nearness  of  believers  to  Christ,  as 
they  are  his  mystical  body,  and  thus  the  beloved  parts  of  him- 
self, we  have  then  the  strongest  assurance  possible  that  they 
shall  ever  be  preserved;  for  what  man,  in  his  right  mind,  did 
ever  yet  hate  his  own  flesh,  or  sufl'er  the  meanest  part  of  him- 
self to  mortify  and  perish,  when  it  v/as  in  his  power  to  prevent 
it?  We  may  be  sure  then,  Christ  will  never  suffer  any  of  the 
saints  to  fall  finally  or  totally,  while  their  union  with  him  does 
remain.  And  that  this  shall  continue  ever,  is  plain  from  the 
resemblance  which  it  bears  to  the  eternal  union  between  his 
Father  and  himself;  which  resemblance  is  supposed  and  refer- 
red to  by  Christ,  when  praying  for  his  people,  he  says,  "  That 
they  all  may  be  one,  as  thou.  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee;" 
and  again,  "that  they  may  be  one,  even  as  we  are;  I  in  them, 
and  thou  in  me,"  John  xvii.  21,  22.  And  this  resemblance  lies 
particularly  in  the  perpetual  and  endless  duration  of  the  union. 
This  everlasting  union  between  Christ  and  his  people,  stands 
then  as  a  firm  and  constant  support  of  the  invincible  perseve- 
rance of  all  the  saints. 

There  is  one  argument  more,  which  remains  to  be  considered; 
and  that  is  taken  from, 

3dly,  The  inhabitation  and  constant  residence  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  in  the  souls  of  believers. 

That  the  Spirit  of  God  is  given  to  every  believer,  may  be 
proved  from  those  words  of  the  apostle,  "  If  any  man  have  not 
the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  his,"  Rom.  viii.  9.  All  true 
disciples  of  Christ  partake  not  only  of  the  gifts,  but  of  the 
graces  of  the  Spirit.  This  is  evident,  in  that  he  "quickens 
them,"  John  vi.  63;  "they  are  born  of  the  Spirit,"  John  iii.  5, 
"and  led  by  the  Spirit,"  Rom.  viii.  14,  and  do  share  in  those 
graces  of  faith,  love,  meekness,  &c.,  which  are  the  fruits  of  the 
Spirit,  Gal.  v.  22.  I  need  not  stay  to  insist  upon  this,  nor  to 
show  that  where  he  does  constantly  reside  in  any,  these  shall 
be  enabled  to  endure  to  the  end.  AH  this,  I  presume,  will  be 
allowed. 

That  which  my  argument  does  more  immediately  oblige  me 
to  prove,  is  the  constancy  of  his  abode  in  the  hearts  of  his 
people.  And  for  this,  I  think,  we  have  a  strong  proof  in  our 
Saviour's  request,  which  is  equivalent  to  a  promise ;  "  I  will 
pray  the  Father,  and  he  shall  give  you  another  Comforter,  that 
he  may  abide  with  you  for  ever ;  even  the  Spirit  of  truth, 
whom  the  world  cannot  receive,  because  it  seeth  him  not, 
neither  knoweth  him ;  but  ye  know  him,  for  he  dwelleth  with 
you,  and  shall  be  in  you,"  John  xiv.  16,  17.     That  the  benefit 


OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN   GRACE.  355 

of  this  request  belongs  to  all  the  saints,  appears  from  hencO; 
because  the  discriminating  mark  here  applied  to  the  disciples, 
did  not  distinguish  them  from  the  other  believers,  but  only 
from  the  men  of  the  world.  I  may  add,  the  very  mark  by 
which  they  are  described,  is  found  upon  every  true  believer, 
distinguishing  him  from  the  world,  as  really  as  it  did  the  disci- 
ples themselves:  for  all  believers  have  a  saving  knowledge  of 
the  Spirit,  and  an  experimental  acquaintance  with  liim  in  his 
gracious  dealings,  and  sanctifying  operations.  We  may  there- 
fore be  assured  he  dwells  in  them,  and  abides  with  them  for 
ever. 

Bat,  in  opposition  to  this,  we  are  told,  that  they  who  have 
been  the  temple  of  God,  by  virtue  of  his  Spirit's  dwelling  in 
them,  may  so  corrupt  this  temple,  as  to  be  destroyed;  that  they 
may  provoke  the  Spirit  wholly  to  depart  to  their  utter  ruin: 
for  the  proof  of  which,  these  words  of  the  apostle  are  quoted; 
"  If  any  man  defile  the  temple  of  God,  him  shall  God  destroy," 
1  Cor.  iii.  17. 

To  set  this  matter  in  a  true  light,  we  are  to  remember,  that 
the  temple  of  God,  even  in  its  metaphorical  sense,  when  applied 
to  the  saints,  falls  under  a  two-fold  consideration.  Sometimes 
it  is  to  be  understood  of  the  saints,  collectively;  at  other  times, 
it  is  meant  of  them  as  distributively  considered.  In  the  former 
sense,  by  the  temple  of  God  is  meant  a  gospel  church;  in  the 
latter,  a  particular  believer. 

Now,  in  the  place  that  is  quoted,  the  apostle  speaks  of  the 
saints  collectively,  as  "  builded  together  for  an  habitation  of 
God  through  the  Spirit ;"  this  we  may  learn  from  his  own  ex- 
pressions, where  he  says,  "  Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple 
of  God?"  again,  "which  temple  ye  are,"  ver.  16,  17,  where  it 
is  plain  he  speaks  of  them  collectively,  because  the  word  tem- 
ple, in  the  singular  number,  is  joined  with  a  pronoun  personal 
in  the  plural.  This  must  be  allowed  then,  that  by  the  temple, 
is  there  meant  a  church  of  Christ. 

Next,  let  us  see  what  is  meant  by  defiling  this  temple  of 
God.  To  this  purpose,  we  must  observe  what  the  apostle  had 
been  treating  of  in  the  preceding  verses.  From  the  tenth  to 
the  sixteenth  verse,  he  shows  the  different  event  of  the  minis- 
try of  different  persons ;  particularly  in  the  fifteenth  verse,  he 
signifies  the  unhappy  consequence  of  the  labours  of  some,  who, 
though  they  were  right  in  the  foundation,  yet  were  very  wrong 
in  the  superstructure.  After  this,  he  immediately  proceeds  to 
show  the  certain  destruction  of  men  of  corrupt  minds,  who  have 
no  regard,  either  that  their  preaching,  or  that  their  own  souls, 
might  be  built  upon  Christ,  the  sure  foundation.  And  then  de- 
clares, that  if  any  man  defile,  (or,  as  it  is  in  the  margin,  if  he 
corrupt,)  the  temple,  that  is,  the  church  of  God,  either  by  such 
error  in  doctrine,  such  superstition  or  innovations  in  worship,  or 


856  OF    PERSEVERANCE    IN    GRACE. 

by  any  such  vile  practices,  as  deface  the  beauty  of  the  church, 
or  threaten  the  destruction  and  overthrow  of  the  church-state 
itself,  such  a  one  ivould  God  destroy. 

This  I  take  to  be  a  fair  explication  of  the  text,  which,  at  once, 
sets  aside  all  that  has  been  advanced  from  it,  in  opposition  to 
the  argument  that  we  are  upon:  for  no  colourable  objection  can 
be  raised  from  it,  against  the  Spirit's  constant  and  perpetual 
residence  in  the  souls  of  his  people,  but  upon  a  supposition,  that 
the  person  who  defiles  the  temple  of  God,  is  a  true  believer, 
and  thus  himself  a  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost :  whereas  no  sup- 
position of  this  kind  is  contained  in  the  apostle's  representation 
of  his  case.  On  the  contrary,  he  intimates,  that  the  man  who 
is  supposed  to  defile  the  temple,  is  in  such  a  state  of  ignorance 
and  darkness,  and  such  a  stranger  to  any  experimental  ac- 
quaintance with  Christ,  the  foundation,  as  can  never  be  allowed 
concerning  any  true  believer ;  nay,  further,  that  he  is  guilty  of 
that  self-deceit,  of  that  craftiness  and  carnal  policy,  and  of  those 
vain  thoughts  which  are  altogether  inconsistent  with  the  Spi- 
rit's dwelling  in  him,  1  Cor.  iii.  18,  19.  So  that  this  text  v/hen 
rightly  opened,  gives  not  the  least  countenance  to  the  notion, 
''  that  they  who  have  been  the  temple  of  God,  by  virtue  of  his 
Spirit's  dwelling  in  them,  may  so  corrupt  themselves,  as  to  be 
destroyed." 

As  to  any  further  pretended  plea  for  the  Spirit's  total  depar- 
ture, taken  from  the  defilements  which  they  may  possibly  con- 
tract, who  are,  indeed,  his  temple;  I  think,  a  sufficient  reply 
might  be  given,  from  what  we  have  already  proved  out  of  the 
sacred  writings  under  the  last  head,  concerning  the  abiding 
union  between  Christ  and  his  people.  But  I  shall  add,  that  if 
all  tiie  rebelhons  conniiitted  by  them,  while  they  were  in  their 
natural  state,  could  not  hinder  the  Spirit's  approach,  nor  exclude 
them  from  the  benefit  of  his  entrance  at  their  regeneration,  then 
surely  no  miscarriage,  committed  after  their  etfectual  calling, 
shall  cause  him  wholly  to  depart,  and  leave  them,  his  continu- 
ance being  secured  through  the  redemption  of  Christ  and  his 
intercession ;  "  For  if,  when  we  were  enemies,  we  were  recon- 
ciled to  God  by  the  death  of  his  Son,  much  more  being  recon- 
ciled we  shall  be  saved  by  his  lite,"  Rom.  v.  10. 

This  point  then  of  the  Spirit's  constant  residence  in  the  hearts 
of  his  people,  stands  firm  against  all  opposition;  and,  in  conse- 
quence thereof,  the  doctrine  of  the  saints'  final  perseverance 
remains  unshaken:  for  how  shall  the  Spirit  abide,  as  the  Para- 
clete, Advocate,  or  Comforter  of  his  people,  unless  he  continues 
to  be  their  Sanctifier?  And  since  his  constant  residence  is  pro- 
mised, under  all  those  characters,  we  may  be  confident  his  peo- 
ple can  never  fall  from  grace. 

Thus  I  have  gone  through  all  the  arguments  proposed  for 
the  defence  of  this  doctrine,  though  not  all  that  might  liave 


OF  PERSEVEHANCE   IN   GRACE.  357 

been  brought;  for  I  thought  it  better  to  give  what  I  have  pro- 
duced, a  full  consideration,  than  by  mentioning  more,  to  have 
prevented  my  setting  these  in  so  clear  and  strong  a  light,  as  I 
was  firmly  persuaded  their  matter  would  bear.  And  I  would 
hope,  that  the  great  truths  which  I  have  thus  collected  from 
Scripture,  concerning  the  immutability  of  the  purpose  and  pro- 
mise of  God,  concerning  the  Redeemer's  care  over  his  people, 
with  his  peculiar  relation  unto  and  union  with  them,  and  con- 
cerning the  constant  abode  and  inhabitation  of  the  Spirit  in  the 
souls  cf  believers,  will  be  of  sufficient  weight  to  settle  the  judg- 
ment, and  establish  the  faith  of  the  saints  in  this  important  arti- 
cle. And  I  would  humbly  trust,  that,  through  the  blessing  of 
God,  they  may  be  the  happy  means  of  promoting  the  comfort 
and  joy  of  believers,  though  they  should  fail  of  success,  as  to  the 
conviction  of  those  who  are  otherwise  minded,  which  yet  is 
what  I  heartily  wish,  and  shall  earnestly  pray  for. 

But,  that  this  may  be  eft'ected,  there  remains  a  further  expe- 
dient now  to  be  used :  and  thus  I  pass  on  to  the  last  general 
head ;  under  which, 

III.  I  shall  make  a  reply  to  the  principal  objections,  which, 
some  apprehend,  forbid  their  assent  to  ihe  doctrine  of  the  saints' 
perseverance,  as  it  has  been  here  stated  and  asserted. 

At  my  entrance  upon  this  part  of  my  work  I  must  observe, 
that  our  doctrine  being  founded  upon  the  most  express  and  fall 
declarations  of  Scripture,  I  shall  not  think  myself  obliged  to 
take  much  notice  of  any  objections  but  what  are  grounded  upon 
some  passage  in  the  word  of  God,  and  thus  seem  in  the  judg- 
ment of  the  objector,  to  be  countenanced  by  divine  authority. 
Accordingly  I  shall  wave  a  nice  consideration  of  the  metaphy- 
sical and  abstruse  reasonings  of  those  who  are  pressing  this  and 
other  points  of  divine  revelation,  with  the  difficulties  which  in 
their  sentiments  attend  the  reconciling  the  predetermination  and 
absolute  decree  of  God,  with  the  liberty  of  man  as  a  free  agent. 
Besides,  this  controversy,  as  I  apprehend,  more  properly  belongs 
to  another  topic,  and  is  usually  handled  by  those  that  treat  of 
the  decrees  and  foreknowledge  of  God.  It  cannot  therefore 
justly  demand  to  be  particularly  considered  here. 

As  to  all  objections  then  of  this  kind,  which  would  insinuate, 
that  to  ground  the  infallibility  of  the  saints'  perseverance  in 
grace  upon  the  divine  decree,  is  to  give  up  the  freedom  of  man's 
will,  I  shall  only  answer  in  general,  that  though  the  counsel 
and  purpose  of  God,  respecting  the  salvation  of  his  people,  be 
peremptory  and  absolute,  and  shall  be  infallibly  accomplished, 
as  it  is  declared  in  the  promise;  yet  the  decree  of  God  does  not 
offer  any  violence  to  the  will  of  man,  nor  take  away  the  liberty 
or  contingency  of  second  causes.  For  it  is  sufficient  unto  human 
liberty,  that  a  man  acts  without  constraint,  and  out  of  choice. 
And  is  it  not  thus  with  the  saints  as  to  their  perseverance  in 


358  OF   PERSEVERANCE   IN   GRACE. 

grace?  Is  not  the  new  nature  in  them  an  overflowing  spring  of 
holy  desires?  Do  not  they  act  freely  in  the  exercise  of  every 
grace,  whether  of  faith  or  repentance,  of  hope  or  love?  Is  not 
the  frame  which  disposes  their  souls  for  these  spiritual  actings, 
the  happy  temper  which  they  choose?  Is  it  not  what  they  daily 
pray  for?  When  obtained,  is  not  the  experience  of  it  most 
delightful?  And  do  not  they  esteem  it  as  matter  of  the  greatest 
thankfulness?  Wherein  then  can  there  be  an  infringement  of 
the  liberty  of  the  will,  or  any  force  to  be  complained  of? 

And  as  to  the  most  dithcult  parts  of  their  holy  walk,  even 
those  which  require  the  severest  acts  of  self-denial,  such  as  the 
mortification  of  sin,  and  the  trying  duties  of  humility,  patience, 
and  the  forgiveness  of  enemies,  do  not  they  enter  upon  these 
with  the  most  mature  deliberation,  and  with  the  firmest  resolu- 
tion? Are  not  all  performed  with  cheerfulness?  Oris  it  not 
their  grief  and  burden,  that  they  cannot  engage  herein  with  the 
utmost  vigour  of  soul,  and  the  greatest  readiness?  How  is  there 
any  necessity  then  imposed  upon  them?  Or  what  constraint  are 
they  under  ?  None  sure;  unless  it  be  that  of  love  to  a  Saviour, 
and  desire  to  be  conformed  to  his  image:  or  that  of  gratitude  to 
their  heavenly  Father,  with  a  holy  breathing  after  the  enjoy- 
ment of  his  presence,  both  here  and  hereafter.  And  is  it  losing 
their  liberty  to  be  under  the  powerful  influence  of  such  a  bless- 
ed constraint  as  this,  if  it  must  be  called  a  constraint?  As  the 
liberty  of  the  will  is  entirely  preserved  in  the  things  we  have 
now  mentioned,  so  there  are  no  further  instances  belonging  to 
the  saints'  perseverance  in  grace,  that  can  be  produced,  by 
which  it  is  more  likely  the  destruction  or  loss  of  their  freedom 
could  be  proved. 

Upon  the  whole,  then,  it  may  as  well  be  said,  that  there  is 
no  liberty  in  the  pure  actings  of  the  saints  or  angels  in  heaven, 
who  love,  and  cannot  but  love,  admire,  and  adore  our  Saviour, 
and  our  God,  as  to  say  that  the  holy  actings  of  believers  upon 
earth  are  not  free  and  voluntary.  We  conclude,  therefore,  that 
though  the  decree  which  appoints  the  believer's  salvation,  in- 
cludes these  things  as  means  necessary  thereunto;  and  that 
though  this  decree  being  eff'ectual,  independent,  and  immutable, 
does  establish  such  a  certainty  of  the  event,  with  respect  both 
to  the  means  and  the  ends,  as  renders  it  impossible  that  either 
should  fail;  yet  the  saints' freedom  in  acting  is  not  destroyed 
thereby.  No;  no  more  than  the  liberty  of  human  action  in 
eating  or  drinking  is  destroyed  by  the  decree  which  fixes  the 
number  of  a  man's  days,*  which  appoints  the  necessary  means 
of  his  support,  and  which  effectually  secures  the  use  thereof, 

*  If  any  shall  question  whether  God  has  determined  the  hounds  of  the  life  of 
man,  they  may  find  this  matter  clearly  discussed,  and  the  truth  of  the  atfirmative 
well  established,  and  abundantly  confirmed  from  Scripture,  in  Mr.  Ridgeley's 
Body  of  Divinity,  Vol.  I.  p.  256—260. 


OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN   GRACE.  359 

till  the  determined  period  of  his  life  approaches;  or,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Job,  "  till  he  shall  accomplish  as  an  hireling  his  day," 
Job.  xiv.  5,  6. 

I  shall  now  consider  the  objections  taken  from  Scripture.  But 
I  do  not  think  it  necessary  for  me  to  speak  distinctly  to  every 
portion  of  Scripture,  from  which  objections  have  been  raised:  I 
shall  select  a  few  of  those  which  are  generally  supposed  to  be 
of  the  greatest  moment;  and,  in  my  remarks  upon  these,  I  shall 
endeavour  to  hint  such  things  as  may  serve  for  an  answer  to  the 
like  objections  when  taken  from  any  other.  And  here  let  me 
remind  you,  that  I  think  it  but  just  to  make  such  an  application 
of  the  distinctions  we  have  settled,  when  the  point  was  stated,  as 
the  course  of  our  reasoning  shall  now  require,  without  adding 
any  thing  further  for  their  confirmation. 

I  shall  now  propose  the  objections  which  are  to  be  consider- 
ed, and  shall  sum  them  up  under  these  three  heads.  1.  Some 
are  taken  from  the  instances  of  apostasy  recorded  in  Scripture. 
2.  Other  objections  are  taken  from  the  threatenings  of  the  word, 
in  case  of  apostasy.  3.  Others  again  are  taken  from  the  com- 
mands and  exhortations,  from  the  cautions  and  directions  which 
frequently  occur  in  the  inspired  writings. 

1.  I  shall  consider  the  objections  taken  from  the  instances  of 
apostasy,  recorded  in  Scripture.  All  objections  of  this  kind  do 
constantly  proceed  from  a  mistake  in  one  of  these  two  things: 
(1.)  In  taking  a  partial  backsliding  for  a  total  apostasy:  (2.)  Or 
else  in  taking  a  falling  from  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  and  a 
profession  of  religion,  for  a  falling  from  a  state  of  grace. 

(1.)  In  some  of  these  objections  ^.  partial  backsliding  is  mis- 
taken for  a  total  apostasy.  This  is  the  case  when  any  of  the 
precious  saints  of  the  Lord,  who  were  the  excellent  of  the  earth, 
are  thrust  into  the  dead  list  of  total  apostates.  The  three  that 
are  commonly  pointed  out  upon  this  occasion  are  David,  Solo- 
mon, and  Peter.  As  to  Peter,  we  have  already  proved  that  his 
faith  did  not  totally  fail,  for  he  who  was  always  heard,  had 
prayed  it  should  not,  Luke  xxii.  32. 

As  to  David  likewise,  we  have  sufficient  reason  to  believe 
that  his  grace  did  not  fail  totally,  and  that  the  Spirit  of  God  did 
never  wholly  depart  from  him;  if  we  observe  that  upon  his 
recovery  from  his  backsliding,  when  he  was  in  the  most  peni- 
tential frame,  and  must  be  supposed  to  have  had  the  most  just 
sense  of  his  condition,  even  then,  though  he  pleaded  that  God 
would  "restore  unto  him  the  joy  of  his  salvation,"  Psal.  li.  12, 
for  this  he  had  lost;  yet  we  never  read  of  his  praying  that  God 
would  restore  unto  him  his  Spirit,  a  plain  intimation,  that  his 
presence  and  residence  was  never  totally  lost.  David  knew 
indeed  that  he  had  incurred  the  forfeiture,  and  therefore  he 
pleads,  "Take  not  thine  holy  Spirit  from  me,"  Psal.  li.  11.  But 
his  very  language  in  this  petition,  supposes  that  the  Spirit  did 


360  OF    PERSEVERANCE   IN    GRACE. 

Still  continue  with  him.  And  here  I  would  observe  by  the  way, 
that  since  the  Spirit  was  not  taken  from  David,  under  all  the 
provocations  which  attended  the  falls  there  confessed  and 
lamented,  we  have  no  reason  to  imagine  that  he  is  taken  from 
any  other  in  whose  heart  he  has  once  dwelt,  as  a  Spirit  of  grace 
and  regeneration. 

Finally,  as  to  the  instance  of  Solomon,  though  the  account 
we  have  of  him  be  but  short,  yet  there  are  some  passages  in  his 
story,  which  make  his  case  look  more  like  a  partial  backsliding, 
than  a  total  apostasy.  For  how  strongly  soever  this  be  express- 
ed, still  by  its  being  said,  "  His  heart  was  not  perfect  with  the 
Lord  his  God,  as  was  the  heart  of  David  his  father,"  1  Kings 
xi.  4,  and  that  he  "  went  not  fully  after  the  Lord,  as  did  David 
his  father,"  ver.  6,  it  seems  as  if  the  Scriptures  intended  that 
his  declension  should  be  understood  of  an  abatement  of  his 
former  zeal,  and  not  of  a  total  apostasy.  This  is  confirmed  by 
what  we  meet  with  in  another  place,  where  the  people  that  set 
their  hearts  to  seek  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  and  thus  strength- 
ened the  kingdom  of  Judah,  are  said  to  have  "  walked  in  the 
way  of  David  and  Solomon,"  2  Chron.  xi.  17.  Whereby  it  is 
at  least  intimated,  that  as  to  the  general  course  of  Solomon's 
walk,  his  way  was  the  same  with  that  of  David:  and  since  the 
way  of  both  is  there  mentioned  with  a  mark  of  divine  approba- 
tion, and  that  after  their  death,  we  may  conclude,  that  they  both 
began  and  ended  well,  and  that,  notwithstanding  their  gross 
backslidings,  yet  they  were  neither  of  them  guilty  either  of  a 
final  or  total  apostasy. 

(2.)  This  objection  drawn  from  the  various  instances  of  apos- 
tasy, is  sometimes  founded  upon  a  mistake  in  another  thing, 
vjz  :  the  taking  a  falling  from  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  and 
^profession  of  religion,  for  a  falling  from  a  state  of  grace. 

That  there  have  been  instances  of  apostasy,  with  respect  to 
the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  is  a  sad  truth,  abundantly  confirmed 
by  the  testimony  of  former  and  later  times.  Thus  some  of  the 
Galatians,  after  they  had  received  the  knowledge  of  the  way  of 
salvation  by  the  righteousness  of  Christ  alone,  turned  back  to 
their  old  notions:  and  seeking  again  to  be  justified  by  the  law, 
they  are  said  to  have  "  fallen  from  grace,"  Gal.  v.  4,  i.  e.  from 
the  doctrine  of  grace. 

Thus  we  read  of  others,  who  concerning  the  truth  have  erred, 
of  whom  was  Hymeneus  and  Philetus,  who  by  their  influence 
and  example,  "overthrew  the  faith  of  some,"  2  Tim.  ii.  18. 
So  that  none  ever  pretend  to  deny  but  a  doctrinal  faith  may  be 
and  frequently  is  overthrown.  But  this  is  very  far  from  proving 
that  the  faith  of  true  believers,  which  is  the  operation  of  God, 
and  which  worketh  by  love,  can  ever  be  eradicated.  Nay, 
though  it  is  allowed  that  some  men,  when  they  have  fallen 
from  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  and  changed  their  opinion, 


OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN   GRACE.  361 

did  likewise  desert  the  apostles,  and  even  abandon  the  ways  of 
God ;  yet  such  instances  as  these,  how  numerous  soever,  cannot 
give  the  least  strength  to  the  objection. 

Because  it  is  declared  by  an  inspired  apostle,  "  they  were  not 
of  us,  though  they  went  out  from  us,"  1  John  ii.  19.  Here  is  a 
plain  intimation  that  the  persons  who  went  out  from  the  church, 
were  really  different  from  true  believers:  and  wherein  did  the 
difference  lie?  not  so  much  in  any  thing  that  was  external,  as 
in  the  internal  frame  and  disposition  of  their  minds,  or  the  in- 
ward state  and  relation  of  their  souls  towards  God.  They  were 
of  tbe  society  and  visible  fellowship  of  the  saints,  of  the  same 
profession  with  them,  they  shared  in  many  of  the  like  gifts  of 
the  Spirit,  and  engaged  in  the  same  worship  with  them.  But 
still  they  wanted  the  gracious  anointing  frotn  the  Holy  One, 
John  ii.  20,  which  true  believers  had  received,  and  which  did 
abide  in  them  that  received  it. 

But  a  late  writer,  to  prove  that  true  believers  themselves 
may  fall  from  grace,  has  quoted  the  passage  which  follows  the 
apostle's  charge  to  Timothy,  "  Holding  faith  and  a  good  con- 
science, which  some  having  put  away,  concerning  faith  have 
made  shipwreck,"  1  Tim.  i.  19.  In  his  arguing  upon  the  place, 
he  tells  us,  that  to  "  put  away  a  good  conscience,"  belongs  to 
them  alone  who  once  had  it. 

But  the  proper  signification  of  the  original  word  intimates  no 
such  thing,  but  rather  that  they  always  refused  it:  as  appears 
from  the  use  of  the  verb  in  several  other  places.  Particularly, 
where  the  Jews  are  said  to  "put  away  the  gospel,"  which  they 
never  received,  but  opposed  with  contradiction  and  blasphemy, 
Acts  xiii.  46.  Tlie  same  word  is  used  concerning  the  Israelites, 
who  put  away  Moses,  or  thrust  him  from  them,  and  would 
not  obey.  Acts  vii.  39.  In  like  manner,  when  God  in  his  gos- 
pel had  set  before  these  apostates  the  way  of  obtaining  a  good 
conscience,  they  refused  to  hearken,  and  thus  might  properly 
be  said  to  put  away  a  good  conscience,  though  they  never  had 
it;  because  they  refused  to  accept  that  righteousness  and  grace 
which  only  could  have  produced  it. 

All  objections  therefore  against  our  doctrine,  founded  upon 
such  instances  as  these  of  Hymeneus  and  his  associates,  pro- 
ceed upon  a  mistake,  in  imagining  those  to  have  had  true  grace 
who  had  it  not. 

Nor  will  the  passage  in  the  epistle  of  Peter,  2  Pet.  ii.  18 — 22, 
which  some  have  laid  a  mighty  stress  upon,  prove  that  the 
professors  who  fell  away,  were  truly  sanctified.  The  apostle, 
indeed,  speaks  of  some  "  who  had  escaped  the  pollutions  of  the 
world;"  yea,  "were  clean  escaped  from  them  who  lived  in 
error;"  and  tells  us,  "these  were  again  entangled  therein,"  and 
that  "the  latter  end  was  worse  with  them  than  the  beginning;" 
for  "  after  they  iiad  known  the  way  of  righteousness,  they 

46 


362  OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN   GRACE. 

turned  from  the  holy  commandment  deUvered  unto  them." 
Several  remarks  might  be  made  to  show  that  all  which  is  here 
spoken  of  these  persons,  is  far  from  amounting  to  a  proof  that 
they  were  truly  sanctified;  but  this  will  be  determined  at  once, 
if  we  observe  how  the  apostle  applies  to  them  the  proverb 
which  he  uses  in  the  last  verse  of  the  chapter;  by  Avhich  it 
plainly  appears,  that  how  much  soever  they  were  reformed, 
as  to  their  outward  conversation,  yet  their  hearts  were  never 
changed.  Under  all  their  reformation,  they  still  retained  their 
old  bestial  nature.  They  were  always  dogs,  but  were  never 
the  children  of  God;  they  were  always  swine,  and  never  the 
true  sheep  of  Christ. 

Such  instances  as  these,  though  frequently  urged  for  this  pur- 
pose, are  far  from  proving  that  true  believers  have  apostatized. 
I  proceed, 

2.  Some  objections  are  taken  from  the  ihreatenings  of  the 
word.  Many,  indeed,  are  the  threats  which  God  has  denoun- 
ced against  those  who  shall  fall  away,  and  who  shall  not  con- 
tinue steadfast  in  their  faith,  and  in  their  obedience  to  the  end. 
Hence  some  have  argued,  that  it  is  possible  for  the  saints  them- 
selves to  fall  from  grace;  for  they  think  a  threat  of  that  which 
cannot  possibly  befall  us,  is  irrational;  and  that  God  himself 
should  threaten  what  his  own  decree  and  promise  have  ren- 
dered impossible,  they  say,  is  very  difficult  to  believe. 

But  the  difficulty,  I  apprehend,  may  be  removed,  if  we 
consider  that  many  events,  which  were  possible  in  their  own 
nature,  do,  by  reason  of  the  infallible  guard  set  by  the  divine 
determination,  become  impossible,  not  in  themselves,  but  with 
regard  to  the  immutabiUty  of  the  decree  and  promise  of  God. 
Now  that  God  should  threaten  that  which  was  possible  in  itself, 
and  that  which,  the  circumstances,  relation,  and  tendency  of 
things  considered,  was  likely  to  happen;  and  that  moreover, 
which,  the  divine  purpose  and  promise  abstracted,  would  cer- 
tainly come  to  pass,  is  neither  irrational  to  suppose,  nor  difficult 
to  believe;  especially  when  we  remember  that  the  truth  of  this 
is  confirmed  by  matter  of  fact,  in  the  story  of  Paul  and  his 
company;  an  instance  as  full  to  our  purpose,  as  the  argument 
could  require;  for,  in  their  case,  we  may  observe,  the  decree 
and  promise  of  God  had  passed,  that  there  should  "  be  no  loss 
of  any  man's  life  among  them,  but  of  the  ship  only,"  Acts 
xxvii.  22. 

An  angel  was  sent  to  inform  Paul  that  God  had  "given  him 
all  them  that  sailed  with  him,"  ver.  23.  This  promise  then 
ascertained  the  safety  of  the  company,  and  rendered  the  loss  of 
their  lives  an  event  that  was  impossible;  as  must  be  allowed,  if 
we  would  not  rob  God  of  what  he  has  always  challenged  and 
assumed,  as  his  peculiar  glory,  viz.  that  his  decrees  are  immu- 
table, and  his  promises  infallible;  and  yet  their  destruction,  or 


OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN   GRACE.  363 

the  loss  of  their  lives,  the  very  thing  which  God  had  infallibly 
promised  should  not  befall  them,  was  threatened,  when  Paul 
said,  "  Except  these  abide  in  the  ship,  ye  cannot  be  saved," 
ver.  31.  Here  then  was  a  threat  of  that  which  God's  own 
decree  and  promise  had  rendered  impossible.  And  it  shows 
threats  of  destruction,  in  case  of  apostasy,  to  be  of  no  force  to 
prove,  as  some  have  pretended,  that  there  is  no  decree  or  pro- 
mise to  render  the  saints'  perseverance  in  grace  so  secure  and 
infallible,  as  to  make  their  falling  from  grace  a  thing  impos- 
sible. 

Some  threatenings  are  likewise  turned  to  a  wrong  use,  in 
being  made  to  relate  directly  and  immediately  to  true  believers, 
though  it  does  not  appear,  from  their  context,  that  this  was  at 
all  intended.  I  shall  name  two  places,  which  have  been  re- 
markably misconstrued  this  way;  one  is  that  in  the  prophecy 
of  Ezekiel:  "But  when  the  righteous  turneth  away  from  his 
righteousness,  and  committeth  iniquity,  and  doth  according  to 
all  the  abominations  that  the  wicked  man  doth,  shall  he  live  ? 
All  his  righteousness  that  he  hath  done  shall  not  be  mentioned ; 
in  his  trespass,  that  he  hath  trespassed,  and  in  his  sin,  that  he 
hath  sinned,  in  them  shall  he  die,"  Ezek.  xviii.  24.  It  is  but 
just,  I  apprehend,  that  our  interpretation  of  this  text  should  be 
regulated  by  a  distinction  between  a  ceremonial  or  moral 
righteousness,  and  that  which  is  truly  evangelical  and  spiritual. 
A  foundation  for  this  distinction  may  be  observed  in  Paul's 
expression;  where  he  declares  of  himself,  that  "touching  the 
righteousness  which  is  in  the  law,  he  was  blameless,"  Phil.  iii. 
6  ;  and  yet  at  that  time,  viz.  before  his  conversion,  he  was  a 
blasphemer  and  a  persecutor,  one  destitute  of  true  grace.  This 
distinction  may  be  further  confirmed,  from  the  words  of  our 
Saviour,  when  he  tells  his  disciples,  "Except  your  righteous- 
ness shall  exceed  the  righteousness  of  the  scribes  and  Phari- 
sees, ye  shall  in  no  case  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven," 
Mat.  V.  20.  And  if  according  to  this  distinction,  the  threat  be 
applied,  as  it  ought,  to  persons  that  had  only  a  ceremonial  or 
moral  righteousness,  then  it  may  be  allowed  that  many  such 
righteous  persons  did  turn  from  their  righteousness,  and  die  in 
their  sins ;  which  is  no  more  than  to  say,  that  false  professors 
and  mere  formalists  proved  apostates ;  and  this  is  a  case  that 
frequently  happens. 

But,  with  a  design  to  overthrow  such  an  explication  of  the 
text  as  this,  it  has  been  said,  "that  if  a  man  should  only  turn 
away  from  his  counterfeit  and  hypocritical  righteousness,  he 
should  rather  live  than  die,  in  as  much  as  he  would  put  off  the 
wolf  to  put  on  the  lamb."  But  certainly  they  were  betrayed 
into  an  unaccountable  weakness  who  argued  after  this  manner: 
for  persons  wlio  have  kept  up  an  hypocritical  profession  many 
years  together,  may,  at  length,  shake  of  the  very  form  of  reli- 


364  OF    PERSEVERANCE    IN    GRACE. 

gion,  and  sink  into  the  most  vile  and  open  abominations ;  and 
shall  this  be  called  a  putting  oft'  the  wolf  to  put  on  the  lamb  ? 
No  sure ;  they  only  put  off  the  sheep's  clothing,  and  now 
appear  to  be  wolves,  as  they  always  were,  though  long  dis- 
guised. 

Another  passage  in  Scripture,  which  has  been  misconstrued 
the  same  way  as  the  former,  is  that  in  the  epistle  to  the  He- 
brews ;  where  it  is  said,  "  For  it  is  impossible  for  those  who 
were  once  enlightened,  and  have  tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift, 
and  were  made  partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  have  tasted 
the  good  word  of  God,  and  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come,  if 
they  shall  fall  away,  to  renew  them  again  unto  repentance." 
Heb.  vi.  4—6. 

Some  have  pretended,  that  the  persons  here  spoken  of  were 
truly  gracious.  This  ought  to  be  proved,  indeed,  before  the 
passage  can  be  reasonably  urged  as  an  objection  against  our 
doctrine ;  but  since  it  is  not  asserted  of  them,  in  the  text  or 
context,  either  expressly,  or  in  terms  equivalent,  that  they  did 
believe  or  perform  any  other  act,  which  could  only  flow  from 
the  vital  principle  of  grace,  the  pretence  that  they  were  true 
believers,  can  be  no  more  than  a  bare  presumption. 

Here  it  may  be  asked,  does  not  the  sentence,  which  declares 
it  to  be  "impossible  to  renew  them  again  unto  repentance," 
imply  that  they  once  had  true  repentance?  I  answer:  if  the 
phrase  be  carefully  observed,  it  will  appear  it  does  not ;  for  it  is 
not  said,  "  it  is  impossible  to  renew  them  unto  repentance 
{again,)  but  "to  renew  them  {again)  unto  repentance."  There 
is  some  difference,  I  apprehend,  between  these  two  modes  of 
expression.  Though  the  former  might  have  led  us  to  think  that 
they  had  once  been  partakers  of  repentance ;  yet  the  latter, 
which  is  the  expression  in  the  text,  intimates  no  more,  but  there 
had  been  some  sort  of  renovation  or  change,  attended  with  a 
profession  of  religion,  and  some  alteration  in  their  outward 
conduct.  Their  illumination  and  convictions  could  hardly  fail 
of  producing  such  effects  as  these ;  but  these  may  be,  and  are 
frequently  wrought  where  the  heart  is  not  changed,  or  where 
men  are  not  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  their  mind.  Now,  persons, 
in  those  circumstances,  may  fall  from  the  strictness  of  their 
walk,  and  gradually  sink  into  loose,  immoral  practices,  till,  at 
length,  they  settle  in  a  course  openly  wicked  and  profane. 
When  things  are  come  to  this  pass,  it  is  difficult,  in  all  common 
cases,  for  such  men  to  be  renewed  again,  even  to  that  sobriety 
and  pureness  which  formerly  adorned  their  conversation. 

As  to  the  persons  to  whom  the  apostle  refers,  it  is  said, 
indeed,  to  be  "impossible  to  renew  them  again  unto  repent- 
ance;"  that  is,  to  bring  them  to  repent  of  their  vile  apostasy, 
"seeing  they  crucify  to  themselves  the  Son  of  God  afresh,  and 
put  him  to  an  open  shame ;"  acting  herein  the  like  part  with 


OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN    GRACE.  365 

those  who  had  the  daring  impudence  to  ascribe  the  divine 
works  of  Christ  to  a  diabolical  power.  Now,  this  being  done 
after  their  illumination,  and  in  spite  of  all  their  convictions,  they 
are  supposed  to  have  committed  the  sin  against  the  ?Ioly  Ghost ; 
and  then  it  is  no  wonder  their  repentance  was  declared  impos- 
sible, though  the  Scriptures  never  speak  of  the  impossibility  of 
repentance  of  any  other  sort  of  sinners  under  the  gospel  what- 
ever. 

From  these  considerations,  we  have  reason  to  conclude,  not- 
withstanding all  that  is  contained  in  this  sentence,  that  these 
apostates  were  never  truly  sanctified.  This  construction  put 
upon  their  character,  is  confirmed  by  what  presently  follows, 
in  the  ninth  verse :  "  But,  beloved,  we  are  persuaded  better 
things  of  you,  and  things  that  accompany  salvation ;"  which 
expression  must  be  understood  to  exclude  the  supposed  apos- 
tates from  having  had  any  share  in  the  special  and  saving 
blessings  of  the  new  covenant,  and  does  by  consequence  declare 
them  to  have  been  always  void  of  grace ;  so  that  there  is  not, 
in  all  the  passage,  the  least  matter  of  objection  against  the  per- 
severance of  true  believers. 

Having  thus  cleared  up  the  two  places  which  are  generally 
thought  to  militate  against  our  doctrine,  the  most  directly  of  all 
the  threatenings,  I  shall  not  enter  upon  a  particular  examina- 
tion of  any  other,  but  only  give  a  short  reply  to  the  objection 
taken  from  the  words  of  the  apostle,  which  denounce  the  sorest 
destruction  against  the  man  that  shall  "  tread  under  foot  the 
Son  of  God,  and  count  the  blood  of  the  covenant,  wherewith 
he  was  sanctified,  an  unholy  thing,"  Heb.  x.  25.  Here  the 
objection  supposes  that  the  apostate  was  the  person  said  to  be 
sanctified:  but  this  supposition  is  built  merely  upon  a  gramma- 
tical mistake;  for  it  is  more  agreeable  to  the  known  rules  of  con- 
struction to  apply  the  relative  to  the  Son  of  God,  its  inmiediate 
proper  antecedent,  who  was  sanctified  or  consecrated  by  the 
blood  of  the  covenant.  This  connexion  of  the  words  being 
observed,  the  objection  vanishes  at  once. 

Thus,  if  the  threatenings,  pointed  against  apostates,  v/ere 
carefully  examined,  many  of  the  objections,  taken  from  them 
against  the  infallibility  of  the  saints'  perseverance,  would  be 
wholly  precluded,  and  the  rest  would  quickly  be  given  up;  for 
if  the  expressions  by  which  they  are  thought  to  be  supported 
were  rightly  explained,  they  would  appear  to  declare  no  more 
than  the  Lord's  utter  abhorrence  of  apostasy,  and  righteous 
displeasure  and  wrath  against  those  who  draw  back  ;  but  could 
never  be  justly  construed  to  signify  either  that  God  has  not  a 
peculiar  people,  to  whom  he  is  resolved  to  be  gracious,  or  that 
they  who  are  once  received  into  the  special  protection  and  care 
of  heaven,  may  yet  miss  of  salvation,  and  perish  at  last. 

3.  Some  objections  are  taken  from  the  commands  and  exhor- 


366  OF    PERSEVERANCE    IN   GRACE. 

tatioiis,  the  cautions  and  directions,  which  frequentlj''  occur 
in  the  sacred  writings. 

These  passages  are  supposed  to  be  pregnant  evidences  that 
true  beUevers  may  fall  from  grace,  and  reckoned  to  be  so  many 
arguments  to  prove,  that  God  has  made  no  absokite  decree,  or 
promise,  that  they  shall  not  do  so.  It  is  said  to  be  unreason- 
able to  conceive,  that  the  same  Spirit  of  wisdom  should  abso- 
lutely declare  that  they  shall  not  fall  away,  and  yet  be  thus 
concerned  to  guard  and  caution  them  against  what  he  has  told 
them,  was  as  impossible,  as  that  God  should  fail  of  performing 
his  promise. 

Let  this  objection  be  enlarged  upon,  and  strengthened  to  the 
utmost;  yet,  after  all, it  can  have  no  more  force  against  the  pro- 
mises which  relate  to  the  saints'  perseverance,  than  it  would 
have  against  those  absolute  promises  regarding  other  matters, 
which  are  likewise  attended  with  exhortations,  instructions, 
and  cautions,  respecting  the  doubtful  conduct  of  the  person 
concerned,  and  given  in  the  name  and  by  authority  of  the 
same  God,  who  had  before  ascertained  the  event  by  his  pro- 
mise. Let  us,  then,  transfer  the  objection  to  some  particular 
cases  recorded  in  Scripture,  and  its  weakness  will  soon  be  dis- 
covered. For  instance,  did  not  the  apostle  Paul,  when  he  gave 
the  centurion  and  soldiers  the  caution,  saying,  "  Except  these 
abide  in  the  ship,  ye  cannot  be  saved,"  Acts  xxvii.  31,  speak 
by  the  same  Spirit  of  wisdom,  as  when  he  told  them  before 
there  should  be  "no  loss  of  any  man's  life,  but  of  the  ship 
only?"  verse  22.  Can  we  imagine  that  the  vigilance  and  cau- 
tion required,  were  an  evidence  that  God  Iiad  never  promised 
to  give  the  apostle  all  them  that  sailed  with  him  ?  Must  we 
believe  that  the  destruction  of  some  of  that  company  might 
have  happened,  though  a  God  of  infinite  faithfulness  had 
engaged  there  should  be  no  loss  of  any  man's  life  among  them? 
Did  the  apostle  intend,  by  his  caution,  to  weaken  the  credit  of 
the  promise  ?  or  did  the  assurance  he  had  given  of  their  safety, 
render  the  caution  ineifectual  ?  Neither  he  nor  they  did  thus 
understand  things  in  that  affair:  why,  then,  should  they  be  thus 
interpreted  in  the  case  before  us  ? — Finally,  would  it  not  be  a 
vain,  not  to  say  a  wild  construction  of  the  apostle's  caution 
about  keeping  the  mariners  in  the  vessel,  to  understand  it  as 
telling  the  centurion  and  soldiers  that  it  highly  concerned  them 
to  fear,  lest  the  God  of  truth  should  be  unfaithful  to  his  pro- 
mise ?  Yet  some  have  pretended,  that  if  an  absolute  promise 
for  the  safety  of  believers  be  granted,  nothing  short  of  this  must 
be  the  construction  we  are  to  put  upon  the  cautions  and  exhor- 
tations, whereby  they  are  directed  and  quickened  to  their  duty. 
But  sure,  they  that  are  influenced  by  the  sentiments  and  con- 
duct of  the  inspired  writers,  can  never  agree  to  the  perverse 
turn  of  such  extravagant  insinuations. 


OF   PERSEVERANCE    IN   GRACE.  367 

Again,  in  what  stronger  terms  can  the  certainty  of  an  event 
be  fixed,  than  was  that  of  Solomon's  bnilding  the  temple,  and 
yet  with  what  a  variety  of  cautions  and  commands,  of  exhor- 
tations, instructions,  and  prayers,  was  the  revelation  of  this  abso- 
lute decree  followed  by  David,  who  had  received  the  promise, 
and  did  believe  the  certainty  of  its  accomplishment?  His  ex- 
pressions, upon  that  occasion,  are  very  remarkable  and  direct  to 
our  purpose;  they  appear  in  the  strongest  light  m  1  Chron.  xxii. 
from  verse  6,  throughout. 

There  are  other  passages;  as  the  angel's  directions  and  cau- 
tions to  Lot  in  particular,  which  look  with  the  same  unfavour- 
able aspect  upon  these  objections,  and  might  be  produced  to 
show,  that  as  exhortations,  cautions,  and  commands,  are  not  in 
those  cases,  made  unnecessary  by  the  absolute  promise  and 
unchangeable  decree  of  God,  so  it  is  unreasonable  in  any  to 
attempt,  by  these  exhortations,  &c.  to  vacate  the  promise,  or 
annul  the  decree. 

As  to  the  perseverance  of  the  saints,  though  the  certainty 
thereof  be  declared  in  the  promise,  yet  the  justness  and  pro- 
priety of  all  the  exhortations,  &c.  of  the  word  relating  there- 
unto, might  be  made  to  appear,  were  we  to  consider  the  state 
of  visible  churches,  how  many  persons  there  are  having  a  form 
of  godliness  but  denying  the  power  thereof;  and  were  we  also 
to  observe  the  great  imperfection  of  believers  themselves,  in  this 
militant  state,  who  have  to  conflict  with  innumerable  lusts  and 
passions  within,  as  well  as  the  most  subtle  and  powerful  ene- 
mies without.  These  circumstances  universally  attending,  can 
it  seem  strange,  that,  after  the  strongest  assurance  of  a  believer's 
safety,  professors  should  be  warned  to  "  look  diligently,  lest  any 
man  fail  of  the  grace  of  God,"  Heb.  xii.  15,  and  content  himself 
with  a  profession  of  religion  without  its  principle?  or  that  the 
disciples  should  be  exhorted  "  to  put  on  the  whole  armour  of 
God,  that  they  may  be  able  to  withstand  in  the  evil  day,  and 
having  done  all  to  stand?"  Eph.  vi,  13.  Instead  therefore  of 
turning  such  cautions  and  commands  into  objections  against 
this  doctrine,  it  seems  more  agreeable  to  infer  from  them,  that 
the  heart  of  the  Redeemer  is  much  set  upon  the  salvation  of  his 
people;  and,  considering  how  frequently  they  occur,  and  with 
what  strictness  and  solemnity  they  are  constantly  given,  they 
plainly  show  that  he  does  really  interest  himself  in  the  perse- 
verance of  his  saints,  and  is  resolved  no  means  shall  be  neglected, 
which  would  help  to  promote  it.  His  diligence  and  care  in 
pursuing  such  methods  as  these,  are  but  the  fruit  of  the  immuta- 
bility of  his  purpose  to  accomplish  the  design,  and  of  the  wis- 
dom of  his  counsel,  to  bring  it  about  in  a  way  entirely  suited 
to  the  nature  of  man,  as  a  free  agent.  "  Therefore,  my  beloved 
brethren,  be  ye  steadfast,  immovable,  always  abounding  in  the 


368  OF    PERSEVERANCE    IN    GRACE. 

work  of  the  Lord,  for  as  much  as  ye  know  that  your  labour  is 
not  in  vain  in  the  Lord."     Particularly, 

1.  Be  diUgent  in  X\\q  performance  o\  religious  duties.  They 
are  most  likely  to  grow  as  the  lily,  who  are  most  careful  to  be 
where  the  sun  shines,  the  dew  falls,  and  the  Spirit  blows;  "  As 
new  born  babes,  desire  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word,  that  ye 
may  grow  thereby.  Watch  and  pray,  that  ye  enter  not  into 
temptation."  Look  out  with  care  to  observe  the  motion  of  your 
enemies,  look  up  with  holy  confidence  for  strength  against  them; 
for  Christ  will  bring  forth  judgment  unto  victory,  but  no  means 
or  ordinances  whatever  can  do  it  without  him. 

2.  Endeavour  to  be  much  in  the  exercise  of  grace.  Let  your 
faith  be  daily  fetching  in  fuel  to  keep  up  the  flame  of  love;  let 
this  be  so  ardent,  as  to  consume  pride  and  every  corruption, 
that  you  may  walk  humbly  with  your  God,  and  continue  pa- 
tiently looking  for  the  mercy  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  unto  eter- 
nal life. 

3.  Cherish  the  motions  of  the  i/es^ecf  and  Holy  Spirit.  Want 
of  attention  to  these  is  the  main  reason  of  our  daily  falls. 

4.  Shun  the  very  appearance  of  evil.  Observe  when  you 
begin  to  fall ;  let  the  smallest  deviations  from  duty  be  heartily 
lamented;  and  be  speedy  in  pleading  with  God  to  restore  your 
souls,  and  establish  your  goings. 

5.  Lastly,  Trust  in  God  to  perfect  that  which  concerns  you. 
Trust  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  manage  your  cause  with  God, 
and  to  keep  all  aright  between  him  and  you  by  his  constant  in- 
tercession. Trust  in  the  Holy  Ghost  to  manage  the  cause  of  God 
on  your  heart,  to  overcome  your  obstinacy  and  unbelief,  to  van- 
quish temptations,  doubts,  and  fears,  and  to  settle  you  in  hope 
and  comfort;  that  you  may  fight  the  good  fight  of  faith,  finish 
your  course  with  joy,  and,  at  length,  receive  the  crown  of  right- 
eousness and  glory. 


DOCTRINE  OF 
THE     RESURRECTION, 

STATED  AND  DEFENDED; 

IN   TWO   SERMONS, 

v" 
By    JOHN   GILL,    D.D. 

MINISTER  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 


SERMON  I. 

Acts  xxvi.  8. — Why  should  it  be  thought  a  thing  incredible  with  you,  that  God 
should  raise  the  dead  ? 

The  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body  from  the  dead,  is 
a  doctrine  of  the  utmost  importance ;  for  "  if  there  be  no  resur- 
rection of  the  dead,  then  is  Christ  not  risen;  and  if  Christ  be 
not  risen,  then  is  our  preaching  vain,  and  your  faith  is  also 
vain,"  1  Cor.  xv.  13,  14.  In  this  lecture,  the  doctrines  of  eter- 
nal election,  original  sin,  particular  redemption,  satisfaction  by 
Christ,  efficacious  grace  in  conversion,  and  final  perseverance, 
have  been  well  explained  and  defended  among  you;  and,  I  hope, 
to  your  great  comfort  and  establishment:  but  to  what  purpose 
are  these  truths  taught,  and  of  what  avail  will  they  be,  if  there 
is  no  resurrection  of  the  dead? 

The  part  assigned  to  me,  in  this  lecture,  being  to  explain 
and  defend  this  truth,  I  shall  attempt  to  do  it  in  the  following 
method : 

I.  I  shall  observe  that  the  doctine  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead  has  not  been  credited  by  some ;  it  has  been  accounted 
incredible. 

II.  Notwithstanding,  I  shall  endeavour  to  evince  both  the 
credibility  and  certainty  of  it. 

III.  I  shall  inquire  who,  and  what  that  is  which  shall  be 
raised. 

IV.  I  shall  consider  the  author  of  this  stupendous  work,  and 
the  particular  concern  which  God  the  Father,  Son,  and 
Spirit,  have  therein. 

V.  I  shall  show  the  importance  and  use  of  this  doctrine. 

I.  It  will  not  be  improper  to  observe,  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection  of  the  body  from  the  dead  has  not  been  believed 

47  369 


370  OF   THE    RESURRECTION. 

hy  some,  but  has  been  accounted  absurd  and  incredible,  though 
without  any  just  reason,  as  will  be  shown  hereafter,  and  as 
may  be  concluded  from  the  words  of  my  text. 

This  doctrine  is  of  pure  revelation,  what  the  mere  light  of  na- 
ture never  taught  men,  and  by  which  alone  they  being  guided, 
have  declared  against.  It  has  been  denied,  as  Tertullian  ob- 
serves, by  every  sect  of  the  philosophers.  That  the  body  was 
mortal,  all  agreed;  that  the  soul  was  immortal,  some  of  them 
asserted,  though  they  had  but  dark  and  confused  conceptions 
concerning  its  future  separate  existence;  but  that  the  body, when 
dead,  should  be  raised  again  to  life,  was  a  subject  of  ridicule  and 
contempt  with  them.  Pliny  calls  it  a  childish  fancy,  vanity,  and 
downright  madness;  as  does  also  Cajcilius,  in  Minucius  Felix, 
who  likewise  reckons  it  among  old  v/ives'  fables.  Celsus,  in 
Origen,  represents  it  as  exceedingly  detestable  and  abominable; 
and,  of  all  the  tenets  of  the  Christians,  this  wa.s  had  in  the  great- 
est contempt  by  Julian  the  emperor.  The  maintainers  and  abet- 
tors of  this  doctjine  were  always  accounted  by  the  heathen  vain, 
trifling,  and  babbling  fellows.  Thus  the  Athenian  philosophers 
of  the  Epicurean  and  Stoic  sects  mocked  at  the  apostle  Paul, 
when  they  heard  him  talk  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead;  "And 
some  said.  What  will  this  babbler  say?"  Acts  xvii.  18,  32. 
"Other  some,  he  seemeth  to  be  a  setter  forth  of  strange  gods; 
because  he  preached  unto  them  Jesus  and  the  resurrection." 
They  were  so  ignorant  of  this  doctrine,  that  they  took  Jesus  and 
the  word  used  by  the  apostle  for  the  resurrection,  to  be  the 
names  of  some  strange  deities  they  had  never  heard  of  before ; 
and  therefore  say,  "  He  seemeth  to  be  a  setter  forth  of  strange 
gods."  The  heathen  had  no  knowledge  of  this  truth,  no  faith 
in  it,  nor  hope  concerning  it.  Hence  they  are  described  by  the 
apostle  Paul,  as  those  who  had  no  hope;  when  writing  to  the 
Thessalonians,  he  says,  "  But  I  would  not  have  you  to  be  igno- 
rant, brethren,  concerning  them  which  are  asleep,  that  ye  sor- 
row not,  even  as  others,  which  have  no  hope,"  1  Thess.  iv.  13, 
14.  By  whom  the  apostle  means  not  Christians,  who  had  no 
hopes  of  the  salvation  of  their  departed  friends  and  relations, 
but  Pagans,  who  had  neither  faith  nor  hope  in  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead,  and  a  future  state :  and  therefore  had  not  that  to 
support  them  under  the  loss  of  relations,  which  Christians  had: 
wherefore  the  apostle  adds,  "  For  if  we  believe  that  Jesus  died 
and  rose  again,  even  so  them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus,  will  God 
bring  with  him."  Much  after  the  same  manner  the  Ephesians, 
whilst  they  were  in  their  heathenish  and  unconverted  estate, 
are  described,  Eph.  ii.  12,  by  the  same  apostle;  "At  that  time, 
says  he,  ye  were  without  Christ:"  that  is,  witiiout  any  know- 
ledge, promise,  or  expectation  of  the  Messiah;  "  being  aliens 
from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  and  strangers  to  the  cove- 
nants of  promise;"  i.  e.  ye  were  not  so  much  as  proselytes  to 


OF   THE    RESURRECTION.  871 

the  Jewish  religion,  nor  members  of  the  Jewish  church,  and 
were  entirely  destitute  of  divine  revelation;  having  no  hope  in 
the  resurrection  and  future  state,  and  so  lived  ivithout  God  in 
the  world,  or  as  atheists  in  it,  as  it  is  in  the  original.  And  we 
may  be  the  more  induced  to  believe  this  to  be,  at  least,  part  of 
the  apostle's  sense  in  these  passages;  since  he,  in  his  defences 
before  Felix  and  Agrippa,  represents  the  doctrine  of  the  resur- 
rection as  the  object  of  hope,  as  in  Acts  xxiv,  15:  "And  have 
liope  towards  God,  which  they  themselves  also  allow,  that  there 
shall  be  a  resurrection  of  the  dead,  both  of  the  just  and  unjust." 
And  in  Acts  xxvi.  6,  7:  "And  now  I  stand  and  am  judged,  for 
the  hope  of  the  promise  made  of  God  unto  our  fathers;  unto 
which  promise  our  twelve  tribes,  instantly  serving  God  day  and 
night,  hope  to  come;  for  which  hope's  sake,  king  Agrippa,  I 
am  accused  of  the  Jews."  And  then  follow  the  words  of  my 
text,  "  Why  should  it  be  thought  a  thing  incredible  with  you, 
that  God  should  raise  the  dead?" 

Some,  indeed,  have  thought  that  the  Gentiles  had  knowledge 
of  the  resurrection;  which  they  collect  partly  from  some  notions 
and  opinions  of  theirs,  which  seem  to  be  a  semblance  with,  and 
to  be  the  broken  remains  of  some  tradition  concerning  it;  and 
partly  from  express  passages,  wherein  they  think  it  is  asserted. 
The  notion  of  the  heathen,  from  whence  it  is  concluded  that 
they  had  some  hints  of  this  doctrine,  are  these,  viz.  that  the  soul 
after  death  has  a  perfect  human  shape,  and  all  the  same  parts, 
both  external  and  internal,  that  the  body  has;  that  there  is  an 
equal  duration  of  the  soul  and  body  after  death;  that  there  is  a 
transmigration  of  souls  into  other  bodies,  especially  human;  that 
men  may  be  translated  body  and  soul  to  heaven;  of  which  they 
give  instances  in  Aristseus  the  Proconnesian,  Alcmena,  Her- 
cules, Helena,  Romulus,  Cleomedes  Astypalensis,  and  others; 
and  that  after  certain  periods  and  revolutions,  when  the  stars 
and  planets  are  in  the  same  configuration  and  respect  to  one 
another,  which  they  formerly  had,  the  same  men  shall  appear 
in  the  world,  and  the  same  things  in  succession  shall  be  done  in 
it,  which  formerly  have  been.  For  instance:  Socrates  shall  be 
born  at  Athens  of  the  same  parents,  be  educated  after  the  same 
manner,  eat  the  same  food,  wear  the  same  clothes,  teach  the 
same  philosophy  to  the  selfsame  scholars,  be  accused  by  the 
same  accusers,  condemned  by  the  same  council,  and  die  by  the 
same  poison.  And  so,  my  friends,  according  to  this  notion,  we 
are  all  to  meet  together  again  in  this  place,  in  the  same  position 
and  situation,  you  to  hear,  and  I  to  preach;  my  subject  is  to  be 
the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection,  and  I  am  to  give  you  an  account 
of  the  notions  of  the  heathen  with  respect  to  it,  as  I  nov/  do. 
But  this  notion  seems  rather  expressive  of  a  regeneration,  or  a 
new  birth,  or  a  re-production  of  men  and  things,  than  a  resur- 
rection of  them:  and,  I  must  confess,  I  cannot  see  what  likeness  i^ 


372  OF   THE    RESURRECTION. 

there  is  between  this,  or  any  other  of  the  above  mentioned 
notions,  and  the  Christian  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  from  the 
dead. 

The  passages  cited  out  of  heathen  authors,  to  show  their 
knowledge  of  this  doctrine,  are  such  as  the  Greek  verses  of 
Phocylides;  in  which  he  expresses  his  hopes,  that,^  in  a  very 
short  time,  the  rehcs  of  the  deceased  should  come  forth  out  of 
the  earth  into  light.  But  this  poem  is  thought,  by  learned  men, 
not  to  be  the  work  of  the  heathen  Phocylides,  but  either  some 
anonymous  Christian,  or  of  some  ancient  Jewish  writer.  Be- 
sides, the  verses  referred  to  are  not  so  expressed,  but  that  it  is 
thought  they  may  very  well  be  explained,  so  as  to  design  the 
Pythagorean  transmigration,  and  not  the  Christian  doctrine  of 
the  resurrection.  Theopompus  and  Eudemus  Rhodius,  in  Dio- 
genes Laertius,  tell  us  that  it  was  the  opinion  of  the  Persian 
Magi,  that  men  should  live  again,  and  be  immortal;  this  they 
received  from  their  master  and  the  founder  of  their  sect,  Zoro- 
aster; who  foretold,  "that  there  should  be  a  time  when  there 
would  be  a  resurrection  of  all  the  dead."  Nor  need  this  be 
wondered  at,  since,  from  the  best  accounts  of  him,  it  appears 
that  he  was  originally  a  Jew,  both  by  birth  and  religion;  was  a 
servant  to  one  of  the  prophets  of  Israel,  and  was  well  versed  in 
the  Holy  Scriptures;  out  of  which,  without  doubt,  he  took  this 
doctrine,  as  he  did  some  others,  and  which  he  taught  his  Magi, 
and  adopted  into  his  new  religion.  It  may  be  more  surprising 
to  hear  that  Democritus,  a  corporeal  philosopher,  should  have 
any  notion  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead;  yet  Pliny  ascribes  it 
to  him,  and  derides  him  for  it;  though  it  has  been  thought  by 
some,  that  he  designs  another  Democritus,  and  not  the  philoso- 
pher, since  this  opinion  cannot  be  very  easily  reconciled  to  his 
philosophy.  But  supposing  that  he,  and  not  another,  is  meant, 
it  is  easy  to  observe  how  he  came  by  it,  seeing  he  not  only  lived 
in  Egypt  a  while  and  conversed  with  the  priests  there,  but  trav- 
elled also  into  Persia,  and  learned  of  the  Magi,  theology  as  well 
as  other  things.  The  notions  of  several  Pagan  nations  concern- 
ing the  resurrection,  are  such  as  are  either  ascribed  to  them  by 
authors  not  to  be  depended  on,  or  plainly  design  transmigration, 
or  are  what  they  have  borrowed  from  the  Jews,  either  by  con- 
versing with  them,  or  by  reading  of  their  writings;  or  else  are 
the  broken  remains  of  some  tradition,  received  from  their  ances- 
tors, originally  founded  on  divine  revelation. 

Some  have  argued  from  the  Pagans'  account  of  future  pun- 
ishments, to  their  belief  of  this  doctrine;  as  when  they  represent 
Aridasus  and  other  tyrants  in  hell,  bound  neck  and  heels  toge- 
ther, their  skin  flayed,  and  they  dragged  through  thorns  and 
briers;  when  they  speak  of  Sisyphus  rolling  a  stone  up  a  hill, 
which,  when  he  has  got  it  to  the  top,  revolves  upon  his  hands; 
of  Ixion,  fastened  to  a  wheel  in  continual  motion;  of  Tityus 


OF  THE   RESURRECTION.  373 

having  vultures  always  feeding  upon  his  liver;  and  of  Tanta- 
lus, in  extreme  thirst,  standing  in  water  up  to  his  middle,  with 
apples  hanging  over  his  head  and  near  his  mouth,  and  yet 
unable  to  extinguish  his  thirst  with  either.  But,  as  a  learned 
author  observes,  the  reason  why  the  heathen  described  the  pun- 
ishments of  the  damned  after  this  manner,  was  not  because  they 
thought  that  their  bodies  were  not  left  here  on  earth,  but  partly 
because  it  is  the  vulgar  opinion,  that  the  soul  had  all  the  same 
parts  that  the  body  lias,  and  partly  because  such  descriptions  do 
more  easily  move  and  affect  us;  and  it  is  not  easy  to  describe 
the  torments  of  the  soul  after  any  other  manner.  Our  Lord,  in 
the  parable  of  Dives  and  Lazarus,  adds  the  same  author,  speaks 
of  them  in  the  same  manner,  as  if  they  had  bodies;  though  what 
is  related  of  them,  is  supposed  to  be  before  the  resurrection,  and 
their  bodies  are  supposed  to  be  yet  in  their  graves. 

As  for  some  particular  instances  of  persons  who  have  been 
said  to  be  raised  from  the  dead  to  life,  mentioned  by  heathen 
writers;  as  Alcestis  by  Hercules, Hippolytus  by  iEsculapius,  with 
many  others  of  the  like  kind ;  Acilius  Aviola,  Lucius  Lamia, 
jSilius  Tubero  and  others  are  said  to  revive  on  the  funeral  pile ; 
Er  Aramenius  Pamphilius  is  reported  to  come  to  life,  after  he 
had  been  dead  twelve  days;  Hercules  is  said  to  live  after  he 
had  burnt  himself ;  and  ^sculapius  to  be  raised  after  he  had 
been  struck  with  thunder,  and  who  himself  is  said  to  restore  one 
to  life  that  was  carrying  to  the  pile;  and  much  such  a  story  is 
told  of  ApoUonius  Tyaneus.  As  for  these  instances,  I  say,  they 
seem  to  be  fabulous  stories,  and  undeserving  of  credit.  It  is 
true,  indeed,  they  have  been  credited  by  some  of  the  heathen, 
and  since  they  have,  an  argument  from  hence  may  be  improved 
against  them  with  great  force,  and  for  the  doctrine  of  the  re- 
surrection ;  for  if  they  can  believe  these  things,  "  Why  should 
it  be  thought  a  thing  incredible  with  them  that  God  should 
raise  the  dead  ?"  It  may  be,  I  have  been  too  long  on  this  sub- 
ject ;  I  therefore  proceed  to  observe, 

That  the  Jews  were  peculiarly  blessed  by  God  with  that  reve- 
lation which  discovers  the  truth  of  this  doctrine.  In  this  they 
had  the  advantage  of  the  Gentiles,  "because  that  unto  them 
were  committed  the  oracles  of  God,"  Rom.  iii.  1,  3;  and  yet 
there  were  some  among  them,  as  the  sect  of  the  Sadducees,  which 
did  not  believe  this  truth;  they  said,  "there  was  no  resurrec- 
tion," Mat.  xxii.  23,  Acts  xxiii.  8,  though  in  this,  as  our  Lord 
says,  "  they  erred,  not  knowing  the  Scriptures,  nor  the  power  of 
God,"  Mat.  xxii.  29,  In  this  the  Hemero-baptists  agreed  with 
them;  nor  did  the  Essenes  acknowledge  the  doctrine  of  the  re- 
surrection ;  yea,  many  of  the  Pharisees  held  the  Pythagorean 
notion  of  the  transmigration  of  souls  into  our  bodies,  which  is 
asserted  by  Josephus,  and,  by  learned  men,  collected  from  sev- 
eral passages  of  Scripture ;  which  notion  has  been  embraced  by 


374  OF   THE   RESURRECTION. 

many  of  that  people.  Nor  is  it  so  atonishing,  as  that,  whereas, 
in  the  writings  of  the  New  Testament,  tliere  is  a  more  clear  dis- 
covery made  of  this  truth,  yet  it  has  been  denied  and  opposed 
by  some  who  have  had  the  advantage  of  them.  It  was  the 
error  of  Hymeneus  and  Philetus,  "  that  the  resurrection  was 
past  already,"  2  Tim.  ii.  18.  And  some  in  the  church  at  Co- 
rinth held  "  that  there  is  no  resurrection  of  the  dead,"  1  Cor.  xv. 
12.  These  were  followed  by  Simon  Magus,  Saturninus,  Basil- 
ides,  Carpocrates,  Valentinus,  and  others,  too  numerous  to.  re- 
cite ;  and,  of  late,  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the  same 
body  is  rejected  by  Socinians  and  Quakers.     But  to  go  on, 

II.  I  shall  now  endeavour  to  evince  both  the  credibility  and 
certainty  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  notwithstanding  it 
has  been  accounted  by  many  absurd  and  incredible. 
First,  I  shall  show  the  credibility  of  it ;  and  that, 
1.  From  its  co7isistence  with  the  nature  and  perfections  of 
God.  If  God  is  omnipotent  and  omniscient,  as  he  certainly  is, 
or  he  would  not  be  God,  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  is  not  in- 
credible; it  is  what  may  be. — God  is  omnipotent,  he  can  do  all 
things;  what  is  impossible  with  men,  is  possible  with  him:  he 
cannot  do  any  thing,  indeed,  which  argues  imperfection  and 
weakness,  or  implies  a  contradiction  and  falsehood:  he  cannot 
lie,  or  deny  himself.  But  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  is  not  an 
instance  of  either.  It  is  no  contradiction,  that  the  dust,  which 
was  formed  out  of  nothing,  being  reduced  to  dust,  should  again 
form  the  body  which  it  once  constituted ;  nor  does  this  argue 
imperfection  or  weakness,  but  is  a  glorious  instance  of  mighty 
power.  A  heathen  once  said,  that  it  was  not  in  the  power  of 
God  to  raise  the  dead;  and  to  another,  it  seemed  impossible  for 
any  to  restore  life  to  one  that  is  dead:  but  if  God  could  make  all 
things  out  of  nothing,  as  he  did,  and,  from  a  dark  and  confused 
chaos,  raise  up  such  a  beautiful  structure  as  this  world,  and,  out 
of  the  dust  of  the  earth,  form  the  body  of  man,  and  infuse  into 
it,  and  unite  it  with  a  living  and  reasonable  soul;  then  much 
more  must  he  be  able  to  raise  up  a  dead  body,  the  matter  and 
substance  of  which  now  is,  though  in  different  forms  and  shapes, 
and  reunite  it  to  its  soul,  which  still  has  a  real  existence :  it  is 
much  easier  to  restore  that  which  is,  to  its  former  condition, 
than  to  make  to  exist  that  which  is  not.  God  is  also  omniscie7it; 
he  knows  all  things :  he  knows  all  the  particles  of  matter,  of 
which  our  bodies  are  composed;  and,  when  they  are  dissolved 
into  several  parts,  blown  about  by  the  several  winds,  crumbled 
into  dust,  reduced  to  ashes,  evaporated  into  air,  or  digested  into 
the  bodies  of  other  creatures,  and  have  been  transmuted  into  ten 
thousand  forms  and  shapes;  he  knows  where  they  are  lodged, 
and  what  are  the  several  receptacles  and  repositories  of  them, 
whether  in  the  earth,  air,  or  sea;  and  his  all-discerning  eye  can 
distinguish  those  particles  of  matter  which  belong  to  one  body. 


OF   THE   RESURRECTION.  375 

trom  those  which  belong  to  another;  and  his  almighty  hand  can 
gather  and  unite  them  together  in  their  own  proper  bodies,  and 
range  them  in  their  due  place  and  order.  If  God  then  is  omni- 
potent and  omniscient,  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead  ought  not  to  be  accounted  incredible. 

As  considering  the  omnipotence  and  omniscience  of  God,  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead  may  be,  which  also  is  no  ways  con- 
trary to  his  goodness;  so  the  justice  of  God  makes  it  necessary 
that  it  should  be :  "  God  is  righteous  in  all  his  ways,  and  holy 
in  all  his  works:''  he  is  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth,  who  will  do 
right:  and  it  is  but  just  with  him  that  those  bodies  v/hich  Christ 
has  purchased  with  his  blood,  and  the  Spirit  has  sanctified  by 
his  grace,  and  which  have  suffered  for  his  name's  sake,  should 
be  raised  again,  that  they,  together  with  their  souls,  may  enjoy 
that  glory  which  is  purchased  for  them,  and  which  they  are 
made  meet  to  be  partakers  of ;  even  as  it  is  a  righteous  thing 
with  God,  to  render  tribulation  to  them  that  trouble  them ;  and 
so  consequently  it  is  no  act  of  injustice  in  God  to  raise  the 
bodies,  both  of  the  righteous  and  the  wicked,  that  they  may 
receive  the  things  done  in  the  body,  whether  they  be  good,  or 
whether  they  be  evil.  These  things  being  considered,  it  may  be 
concluded,  that  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  is  not  inconsistent 
with  the  perfections  of  God,  and  so  not  incredible.  To  these 
considerations  I  add, 

2.  The  several  instances  of  persons  who  have  been  raised  from 
the  dead,  recorded  in  Scripture ;  such  as  the  child  of  the  widow 
of  Zarephath,  which  came  to  life  upon  Elijah's  prayer;  ?,nd  the 
child  of  the  Shunamite,  upon  Elisha's;  as  also  the  man  that  was 
cast  into  Elisha's  sepulchre,  who  revived  and  stood  upon  his 
feet,  upon  touching  the  prophet's  bones,  mentioned  in  the  Old 
Testament:  likewise  Jairus's  daughter,  the  son  of  the  widow 
of  Nain,  and  Lazarus,  who  were  raised  by  Christ;  and  not  to 
forget  to  mention  the  saints,  who  came  out  of  their  graves,  after 
our  Lord's  resurrection:  and  also  Dorcas,  who  was  raised  by 
Peter :  as  was  Euty chus  by  the  apostle  Paul :  which  instances 
are  recorded  in  the  New  Testament.  My  argument  upon  these 
instances  is  this;  that  what  has  been,  may  be;  and  if  these 
instances  of  particular  resurrections  are  to  be  credited,  then  the 
doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  all  the  dead  is  not  to  be  accounted 
incredible.     And, 

3.  It  may  net  be  improper  if  I  should  just  mention  some  typi- 
cal and  figurative  resurrections.  The  Scriptures  give  us  an 
account  of  Jonah's  lying  three  days  and  three  nights  in  the 
whale's  belly;  and  his  deliverance  from  thence  was  a  type  of 
the  death,  burial,  and  resurrection  of  Christ.  The  saving  of 
Isaac  from  being  sacrificed,  was  like  a  resurrection  from  the 
dead ;  and,  indeed,  "  from  thence  Abraham  received  him  in  a 
figure,"  Heb.  xi.  19.     The  redemption  of  the  people  of  Israel 


376  OF   THE    RESURRECTION. 

out  of  the  Babylonish  captivity,  was  a  metaphorical  resurrection, 
and  signified  by  the  reviving  of  dry  bones;  which  was  done  by 
laying  sinews,  and  bringing  flesh  upon  them,  covering  them 
with  skin,  and  putting  breath  into  them.  The  budding  and 
blossoming  of  Aaron's  dry  rod,  is  thought,  by  some,  to  be  a  figure 
of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  However,  be  that  as  it  will, 
this  may  be  observed,  that  if  God  could  deliver  Jonah  out  of 
the  whale's  belly,  save  Isaac  from  being  sacrificed,  when  so  near 
it,  make  dry  bones  to  live  and  stand  upon  their  feet,  and  cause 
a  dry  rod  to  bud,  blossom,  and  bring  forth  almonds;  then  why 
should  it  be  thought  a  thing  incredible  with  any,  that  God  should 
raise  the  dead?     But, 

Secondly,  I  now  proceed  to  show,  that  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead  is  not  only  credible,  hni  certain;  and  this  I  shall  do,  partly 
from  Scripture  testimonies,  and  partly  from  other  Scripture 
doctrines. 

1st,  From  Scripture  testimonies,  which  shall  be  taken  both 
out  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament.  I  shall  begin  with  pro- 
ducing testimonies  out  of  the  former ;  and, 

1.  With  the  words  of  God  to  Moses:  "I  am  the  God  of  thy 
father,  the  God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of 
Jacob,"  Exod.  iii.  6.  I  choose  to  mention  this  scripture,  and 
to  begin  with  it,  because  with  this  our  Lord  confronted  the 
Sadducees,  who  denied  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  put 
them  to  silence  ;  insomuch,  that,  after  that,  no  man  durst  ask 
any  question  at  all ;  the  account  of  which  you  have  in  Mat. 
xxii.  23,  and  some  following  verses;  and  it  stands  thus:  the 
Sadducees  came  to  him  with  an  instance  of  a  woman,  who  had 
had  seven  husbands,  who  were  brethren ;  and  their  question 
upon  it  is,  whose  wife  she  should  be  in  the  rerarrection  ?  To 
which  Christ  replies,  having  observed  to  them  their  ignorance 
of  the  Scriptures,  and  the  power  of  God,  that  "in  the  resurrec- 
tion they  neither  marry,  nor  are  given  in  marriage  ;  but  are  as 
the  angels  of  God  in  heaven;"  and  then  adds,  "But  as  touching 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  have  ye  not  read  that  which  was 
spoken  unto  you  by  God,  saying,  I  am  the  God  of  Abraham, 
the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob ;  God  is  not  the  God 
of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living."  But  now  here  lies  a  difficulty, 
how  this  appears  to  be  a  proof  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead. 

Some  have  thought,  that  our  Lord's  design  is  to  prove  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  which  the  Sadducees  denied,  as  well  as 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead ;  for  they  that  deny  the  former,  deny 
the  latter ;  and  some  of  the  same  arguments  which  prove  the 
one,  prove  the  other.  Menasseh-ben-Israel,  a  learned  Jew  of 
the  last  century,  produces  this  same  passage  of  Scripture,  to 
prove  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  argues  from  it  much  in 
the  same  manner  as  Christ  does.  But  it  is  certain,  that  our 
Lord  produced  this  testimony  as  a  proof  of  the  resurrection.    In 


OF   THE    RESURRECTION.  377 

one  of  the  evangelists,  it  is  said,  "As  touching  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead,  have  ye  not  read  that  which  was  spoken  unto  you 
by  God?"  &c.  Mat.  xxii.  31.  And  in  another,  "  Now,  that  the 
dead  are  raised,  even  Moses  showed  at  the  bush,  when  he  caUed 
the  Lord  the  God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God 
of  Jacob,"  &c.  Luke  xx.  37.  Let  it  be  observed,  then,  that  it 
is  not  said,  I  was,  or  I  will  he,  but  I  am  the  God  of  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob;  which  is  expressive  not  only  of  a  covenant 
which  had  been  made,  but  of  one  that  abides  and  continues, 
which  must  be  either  the  covenant  of  grace  made  with  them  in 
Christ,  of  which  they  had  some  glorious  discoveries  and  mani- 
festations, or  some  particular  covenant  respecting  them  and  their 
posterity.  As  for  the  covenant  of  grace,  this  respected  not  their 
souls  only,  but  their  bodies  also,  even  their  whole  persons; 
therefore,  as  their  souls  now  live  with  God  in  the  enjoyment 
of  the  promised  good,  it  is  necessary  that  their  bodies  should  be 
raised  from  the  dead,  that,  with  their  souls,  they  may  enjoy  the 
everlasting  blessing  of  glory  and  happiness;  otherwise,  how 
would  God's  covenant  be  "  an  everlasting  one,  ordered  in  all 
things,  and  sure?"  The  learned  Mr.  Mede  thinks,  that  Christ 
has  respect  to  the  covenant  which  God  made  with  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob,  in  which  he  promised  that  he  would  give  the 
land  of  Canaan  to  them,  and  to  their  posterity;  not  their  poste- 
rity only,  but  to  them  also ;  therefore  he  observes,  that  it  was 
necessary  that  they  should  be  raised  from  the  dead,  that  they, 
in  their  own  persons,  might  enjoy  the  promised  land.  It  must 
be  acknowledged,  that  this  is  a  way  of  arguing  the  Jews  were 
used  to,  which  may  be  the  reason  of  the  scribes  being  so  well 
pleased  with  it;  and  therefore  said,  "Master,  thou  hast  well 
said,"  Luke  xx.  39.  Such  kind  of  arguments  as  these,  to  prove 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  are  now  extant  in  their  Talmud: 
for  instance ;  R.  Simai  said,  "  From  whence  is  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead  to  be  proved  out  of  the  law?  from  Exod.  vi.  4,  where 
it  is  said,  Jind  I  have  also  established  my  covenant  with  them, 
to  give  them  the  land  of  Canaan;  it  is  not  said  to  you,  but  to 
them."  But,  not  to  insist  any  longer  on  this  proof,  I  proceed, 
2,  To  another  passage  of  Scripture,  for  the  confirmation  of 
this  doctrine,  which  is  in  Job  xix.  25 — 27,  "  For  I  know  that 
my  Redeemer  liveth,  and  that  he  shall  stand  at  the  latter  day 
upon  the  earth;  and  though,  after  my  skin,  worms  destroy  this 
body,  yet  in  my  flesh  I  shall  see  God,  whom  I  shall  see  for 
myself;  and  mine  eyes  shall  behold,  and  not  another,  though 
my  reins  be  consumed  within  me."  I  shall  not  trouble  you 
with  the  difterent  versions  of  these  words,  some  favouring,  and 
some  not,  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection:  and  it  must  be  ownedj 
that  none  of  the  Jewish  writers  understand  the  words  of  a  real, 
but  of  a  figurative  or  metaphorical  resurrection,  and  suppose 
Job's  meaning  to  be,  that  he  should  be  delivered  from  the 

48 


378  OF   THE    RESURRECTION. 

afflicted  state,  in  which  he  then  was,  and  be  restored  to  his 
former  health,  honour,  and  happiness;  in  which  sense  of  the 
words  they  have  been  followed  by  some  learned  Christian  inter- 
preters, at  which  the  Socinians  very  greedily  catch.  Temporal 
afflictions  are,  indeed,  sometimes  signified  by  death,  and  a  deliv- 
erance out  of  them  must  be  as  life  from  the  dead;  but  that  this 
cannot  be  Job's  sense  and  meaning  here,  may  be  concluded 
from  the  following  hints.  Job  was  so  far  from  having  any  faith 
in,  or  assurance  of  his  restoration  to  his  former  state  of  health, 
honour,  and  riches,  that  he  had  no  hope,  no  expectation  of  it; 
nay,  seems  entirely  to  despair  of  it,  though  his  friends  endea- 
voured to  support  him  with  views  of  it,  on  condition  of  his 
repentance.  He  declares,  Job  vi.  11,  and  vii.  7,  8,  and  x.  20, 
and  xvi.  22,  and  xvii.  1,  14 — 16,  that  he  had  no  reason  to  hope 
for  life,  that  he  should  quickly  be  gone,  and  therefore  had  made 
death  familiar  to  him ;  that  he  did  not  expect  to  see  any  more 
temporal  good;  yea,  in  this  very  chapter,  at  the  tenth  verse,  he 
says  of  God,  "  He  hath  destroyed  me  on  every  side,  and  I  am 
gone;  and  mine  hope  hath  he  removed  like  a  tree,"  and  con- 
tinues his  doleful  moan  to  the  very  words  under  consideration; 
so  that  it  must  seem  unlikely,  that,  on  a  sudden,  he  should  have 
his  expectations  of  outward  prosperity  raised.  No ;  the  words 
are  rather  expressive  of  what  was  his  inward  support  and  com- 
fort under  present  afflictions,  and  in  the  views  of  approaching 
death  and  the  grave.  They  are  an  answer  to  what  Bildad  had 
said,  in  the  preceding  chapter,  ver.  12 — 14,  concerning  the 
wicked  man;  where,  though  he  may  not  directly  mean  Job, 
yet  he  had  his  eye  upon  him,  when  he  says,  "  His  strength  shall 
be  hunger-bitten,  and  destruction  shall  be  ready  at  his  side.  It 
shall  devour  the  strength  of  his  skin,  even  the  first-born  of  death 
shall  devour  his  strength.  His  confidence  shall  be  rooted  out 
of  his  tabernacle,  and  it  shall  bring  him  to  the  king  of  terrors.'* 
Well  now,  as  if  Job  should  say,  supposing  all  this,  yet  this  is 
my  comfort,  I  know  my  interest  in  the  living  Redeemer,  and 
am  comfortably  persuaded,  that  when  he  appears  at  the  latter 
day,  though  this  body  of  mine  is  now  reduced  to  skin  and  bones, 
and  will  shortly  be  the  repast  of  worms,  yet  it  shall  be  raised 
again,  and,  in  this  very  flesh  of  mine,  shall  I  see  God,  and  ever- 
lastingly enjoy  him.  The  preface  to  the  words  shows,  that  it 
was  something  future,  and  at  a  great  distance,  which  he  had  in 
view,  even  after  the  consumption  of  his  own  body,  and  at  the 
appearance  of  his  Redeemer  in  the  latter  day;  and  which  was 
very  considerable,  and  of  moment;  and  therefore  he  says,  "  0! 
that  my  words  were  now  written !  0 !  that  they  were  printed 
in  a  book !  that  they  were  graven  with  an  iron  pen  and  lead,  in 
the  rock  for  ever  !" — Besides,  the  vision  of  God  with  the  eyes 
of  his  body,  which  he  expected,  is  not  suited  to  any  state  and 
condition  in  this  life,  but  rather  to  the  state  of  eternal  glory  and 


OF   THE   RESURRECTION.  379 

happiness,  when  saints  shall  see  him  in  the  Mediator,  as  he 
is;  nor  can  Job's  words  have  reference  to  the  vision  he  had  of 
God,  of  which  he  speaks,  chap.  xlii.  6,  "I  have  heard  of  thee 
by  the  hearing  of  the  ear,  but  now  mine  eye  seeth  thee."  Since 
that  issued  not  barely  in  peace,  joy,  and  comfort,  but  likewise, 
in  conviction  of  his  folly  and  weakness,  in  self-abhorence,  and 
deep  humiliation. — Add  to  all  this,  that  Job,  in  the  close  of  this 
chapter,  put  his  friends  in  mind  of  the  awful  judgment:  "  Be  ye 
afraid  of  the  sword;  for  wrath  bringeth  the  punishments  of  the 
sword,  that  ye  may  know  there  is  a  judgment;"  between  which 
and  death,  there  must  be  a  resurrection  from  the  dead,  of  which 
he  had  before  spoken,  that  so  every  one  may  come  forth  to 
judgment,  and  receive  the  things  done  in  his  body,  whether 
they  be  good  or  evil. — From  the  whole,  we  may  conclude,  that 
Job  here  declares  his  faith,  concerning  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead  at  the  last  day,  and  not  his  own  restoration,  from  outward 
misery  to  outward  happiness.  An  ancient  writer  once  thought, 
that  nothing  could  be  a  plainer  proof  of  this  doctrine:  "for," 
says  he,  "  no  one,  since  Christ,  speaks  so  plainly  of  the  resurrec- 
tion, as  this  man  did  before  Christ." 

3.  Another  testimony  I  shall  produce  for  the  proof  of  this 
doctrine,  shall  be  Isa.  xxvi.  19.  "  Thy  dead  men  shall  live,  to- 
gether with  my  dead  body  shall  they  arise;  awake  and  sing,  ye 
that  dwell  in  the  dust ;  for  thy  dew  is  as  the  dew  of  herbs,  and 
the  earth  shall  cast  forth  her  dead."  In  ver.  14,  the  prophet 
says,  "  They  are  dead,  they  shall  not  live ;  they  are  deceased, 
they  shall  not  rise;"  the  meaning  of  which  words  is,  either  that 
those  tyrants,  who  formerly  had  dominion  over  the  people  of 
Israel  were  dead,  and  should  not  live  any  more  in  this  world, 
or  rise  again,  to  tyrannize  over  them;  or  that  many  of  the  peo- 
ple were  dead,  or  should  die  by  the  sword,  famine,  &c.  and  not 
live  again ;  which  the  prophet  mentions  by  way  of  complaint, 
and  as  the  eifect  of  unbelief,  to  which  these  words  are  an  an- 
swer. The  person  speaking  is  the  Messiah,  to  whom  the  cha- 
racters given  in  ver.  4, 12, 13,  belong  ;  who  assures  the  prophet, 
that  though  his  men  or  people  were  dead,  yet  they  should  live 
again;  that  they  should  be  raised  again,  either  at  the  time  of 
his  resurrection  or  by  virtue  of  it.  The  words  are  literally  true 
of  Christ's  resurrection,  and  of  ours  by  him,*  who,  as  he  was  to 
be  born,  and  die,  and  rise  again,  in  order  to  be  the  Saviour  of  his 
people,  so  many  of  them  were  to  rise  along  with  him  ;  therefore 
he  says,  "  With  my  dead  body  shall  they  arise;"  which  was  ful- 
filled at  the  time  of  Christ's  resurrection,!  when  the  gt^aves  loere 
opened^  and  many  bodies  of  the  saints,  ivhich  slept,  arose  and 
came  out  of  the  graves  after  his  resurrection.     Though  these 

*  See  my  book  of  the  Prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament,  &c.  literally  fulfilled 
in  Jesus,  p.  183. 
t  Mat.  xxvii.  52,  53. 


380  OF   THE   EESTJRRECTION. 

words  may  be  rendered  either  thus,  Jis  my  dead  body  shall 
they  arise,  i.  e.  in  the  same  way  and  manner.  Christ's  resur- 
rection is  the  exemplar  of  ours,owr  vile  bodies  shall  be  fashion- 
ed like  unto  his;  he  is  risen  from  the  dead,*  and  become  the 
first-fruits  of  them  that  slept;  or,  as  sure  as  my  dead  body 
shall  they  arise.  Christ's  resurrection  is  the  pledge  of  ours; 
"  because  he  lives,  we  shall  live  also."t  "  If  we  believe  that 
Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  even  so  them  also  which  sleep  in 
Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him."  The  expressions  here  made 
use  of  confirm  this  sense  of  the  words,  "  Awake  and  sing,  ye 
that  dwell  in  the  dust ;  for  thy  dew  is  as  the  dew  of  herbs." 
To  dwell  in  the  dust,  is  expressive  of  the  state  of  the  dead;  and 
a  resurrection  from  thence  is  aptly  signified  by  an  awaking, 
since  death  is  so  frequently,  in  the  sacred  writings,  compared  to 
sleep. ±  The  power  of  God,  in  raising  the  dead,  is  fitly  expressed 
by  the  dew;  for  as  through  the  virtue  and  influence  of  the  dew, 
the  grass  and  herbs  of  the  field  spring  up  and  grow,  so,  through 
the  wonderful  power  of  God,  "  our  bones,"  to  use  the  prophet's 
phrase, II  "  shall  flourish  like  an  herb,"  in  the  resurrection  morn; 
and  it  is  easy  to  observe  a  likeness  between  the  last  clause  of 
this  verse,  "and  the  earth  shall  cast  forth  her  dead;"  and  those 
expressions  by  which  the  resurrection  is  described  in  Rev.  xx. 
1 3,  "  And  the  sea  gave  up  the  dead  which  were  in  it :  and 
death  and  hell,  (or  the  grave,)  delivered  up  the  dead  which 
were  in  them."  The  Jews  refer  this  prophecy  to  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  dead.     But, 

4.  To  add  no  more  testimonies  of  this  kind,  I  shall  conclude 
the  evidence  of  this  doctrine  out  of  the  Old  Testament,  from 
the  famous  prophecy  in  Daniel  xii.  2,  "And  many  of  them 
that  sleep  in  the  dust  of  the  earth  shall  awake ;  some  to  ever- 
lasting life,  and  some  to  shame  and  everlasting  contempt." 
These  words  are  generally  understood  of  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead,  as  well  by  Jewish  as  Christian  interpreters.  Porphyry, 
the  acute  Heathen,  and  sworn  enemy  of  Christianity,  would 
have  these  words  design  the  return  of  some  of  the  people  of 
the  Jews  to  their  own  cities  and  habitations  after  Antiochus's 
generals  were  cut  off",  who  before  skulked  about  in  holes  and 
corners,  and  in  which  sense  of  the  text  he  is  followed  by 
Grotius.  But  surely  this  deliverance,  or  the  return  of  this 
people,  was  not  in  any  of  them  to  shame  and  contempt,  espe- 
cially to  everlasting  shame  and  contempt;  nor  was  it  to  ever- 
lasting life  in  any  of  them,  seeing  they  are  all  since  dead.  Nor 
is  it  true  that  the  doctors  of  the  Jewish  church,  from  that  time, 
shone  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament,  and  as  the  stars  of 
heaven;  but,  on  the  contrary,  their  knowledge  decreased,  their 

»  1  Cor.  XV.  20.  t  John  xiv.  19.     1  Thess.  iv.  14. 

X  See  Job  vii.  21,  and  xvii.  16,  and  xx.  11,  and  xx.  16.     Dan.    xii.  2. 
II  Isa.  Ixvi.  14. 


OF   THE    RESURRECTION.  381 

light  grew  dim,  and  they  became  vain  in  their  imaginations. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  whole  agrees  with  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead,  when,  as  our  Lord  says,  whose  words  are  the  best 
comment  on  this  text,  "All  that  are  in  their  graves  shall  hear 
his  voice,  [i.  e.  the  voice  of  Christ,]  and  shall  come  forth;  they 
that  have  done  good,  unto  the  resurrection  of  life;  and  they 
that  have  done  evil,  unto  the  resurrection  of  damnation,"  John 
V.  28,  29;  and  when  the  bodies  of  the  saints  shall  be  raised  in 
incorruption,  power  and  glory,  and  "  shall  shine  forth  like  the 
sun  in  the  kingdom  of  their  Father."  I  might  have  produced 
several  other  scriptures  out  of  the  Old  Testament  for  the  confir- 
mation of  this  truth,  such  as  Hosea  vi.  2,  and  xiii.  14,  &c.  But 
I  forbear,  and  pass  on 

To  the  New  Testament.  And  here,  were  I  to  take  the  whole 
compass  of  proof  which  this  will  furnish  out,  I  must  transcribe 
a  considerable  part  of  it.  I  shall  only  observe,  that  this  is  the 
doctrine  of  Christ  and  his  apostles;  it  is  a  doctrine  which  Christ 
himself  taught;  he  declared  himself  to  be  "the  resurrection  and 
the  life,"  or  to  be  the  author  of  the  resurrection  unto  life;  and 
that  not  only  those  whom  the  Father  liad  given  to  him,  should 
be  raised  by  him,  but  that  all  that  are  in  their  graves,  whether 
good  or  bad,  should  come  forth  from  thence  at  his  powerful 
and  all-commanding  voice.  The  same  doctrine  was  taught  by 
his  apostles,  who  all  jointly  agree,  that  there  will  be  a  resurrec- 
tion both  of  the  just  and  unjust.  The  arguments  of  the  apostle 
Paul  for  the  confirmation  of  this  doctrine,  are  by  him  laid  to- 
gether, in  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  his  first  epistle  to  the  Corin- 
thians. I  do  not  take  notice  of  particular  passages  in  the  New 
Testament,  partly  because  they  are  plain  and  obvious  proofs  of 
this  truth  at  first  view,  and  partly  because  I  shall  have  occasion 
to  make  particular  use  of  them  in  some  other  parts  of  these  dis- 
courses.    I  proceed, 

2dly,  To  prove  the  certainty  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead 
from  other  Scripture  truths  and  doctrines,  which  I  shall  little 
more  than  name;  and  shall  begin, 

1.  With  the  doctrine  of  election.  That  there  is  an  eternal, 
personal  election  of  some  to  everlasting  life  and  salvation,  the 
Scriptures  do  abundantly  declare.  Now,  this  act  of  election 
regards  not  their  souls  only,  but  their  bodies  also,  even  their 
whole  persons:  if  then  their  persons,  body  and  soul,  are  chosen 
in  Christ  to  everlasting  salvation,  then  their  bodies  must  be 
raised  from  the  dead,  that  they,  united  to  their  souls,  may 
together  "  inherit  the  kingdom,  prepared  for  them  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world;"  otherwise  the  "purpose  of  God, 
according  to  election,"  will  not  stand;  when,  on  the  contrary, 
it  is  certain,  that  "  his  counsel  shall  stand,  and  he  will  do  ah 
his  pleasure." 

2.  It  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures,  that  the  same  persons 


382  OF    THE    RESURRECTION. 

who  w^ere  choseyi  in  Christ,  before  the  foundation  of  the  world, 
were  given  to  him  by  the  Father,  were  put  into  his  hands,  and 
made  his  care  and  charge.  They  were  given  to  him  not  only 
to  be  his  portion  and  inheritance,  but  to  be  kept,  preserved,  and 
saved  by  him,  body  and  soul.  This  was  the  declared  will  of 
his  Father,  when  he  gave  them  to  him,  as  he  himself  assures 
us:  "And  this  is  the  Father's  will,  which  hath  sent  me,  that  of 
all  which  he  hath  given  me,  I  should  lose  nothing,  (no,  not 
even  their  dust,)  but  should  raise  it  up  again  at  the  last  day; 
and  this  is  the  will  of  him  that  sent  me,  that  every  one  which 
seeth  the  Son,  and  believeth  on  him,  may  have  everlasting  life ; 
and  I  will  raise  him  up  at  the  last  day,"  John  vi.  39,  40.  Now, 
if  these  bodies  of  the  saints,  which  are  given  to  Christ,  should 
not  be  raised  from  the  dead,  the  Father's  will  would  not  be 
fulfilled,  nor  Christ  discharge  the  trust  reposed  in  him. 

3.  This  truth  may  be  concluded  from  the  redemption  of  our 
bodies,  as  well  as  of  our  souls,  by  the  blood  of  Christ.  It  is 
true,  this  is  sometimes  called  the  redemption  of  the  soul,  and 
the  salvatio7i  of  the  soul,  but  not  to  the  exclusion  of  the  body; 
for  that  is  bought  with  the  same  price  the  soul  is.  Hence  the 
apostle  says  to  the  saints  after  this  manner:  "Ye  are  bought 
with  a  price,  therefore  glorify  God  in  your  body,  and  in  your 
spirit,  which  are  God's,"  1  Cor.  vi.  20.  Now,  if  these  bodies, 
which  Christ  has  bought,  should  not  be  raised  from  the  dead, 
he  would  lose  part  of  his  purchase:  nor  could  he  perfectly  "see 
the  travail  of  his  soul  and  be  satisfied." 

4.  This  doctrine  may  be  inferred  from  the  union  of  the  saints 
to  Christ,  body  and  soul.  Their  whole  persons  are  united  to 
him;  "Know  ye  not,"  says  the  apostle,  "that  your  bodies  are 
the  members  of  Christ?"  ver.  15.  They  are  part  of  his  mystical 
body,  they  are  united  to  him,  as  well  as  their  souls,  and  remain 
in  union  with  him  after  death;  for,  as  the  union  of  the  two  na- 
tures in  Christ  was  not  dissolved,  when  his  soul  and  body  were 
at  death  disunited,  so  neither  is  the  union  between  Christ  and 
his  people  dissolved  at  death:  and,  by  virtue  of  this  union,  their 
bodies  shall  be  raised  from  the  dead;  otherwise  Christ  must  lose 
a  constituent  part  of  those  who  are  his  mystical  body,  and  so 
the  church  not  be  "  the  fullness  of  him  that  filleth  all  in  all,"  as 
she  is  said  to  be,  Eph.  i.  23. 

5.  All  those  who  are  chosen  in  Christ,  who  are  given  to  him, 
who  are  redeemed  by  him,  and  are  in  union  with  him,  are 
sanctified  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  that  not  in  their  souls 
only,  but  in  their  bodies  also ;  for  as  the  body,  as  well  as  the 
soul,  is  defiled  by  sin,  it  also  stands  in  need  of  the  sanctifying 
influences  of  divine  grace.  Accordingly  the  Spirit  takes  up  his 
dwelling  in  the  bodies,  as  well  as  in  the  souls  of  men;  "What! 
know  ye  not,"  says  the  apostle,  "that  your  body  is  the  temple 
jf  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  is  in  you?"  1  Cor.  vi.  19.     He  be- 


OF   THE    RESURRECTION.  383 

gins  and  carries  on  the  work  of  sanctification  in  the  one,  as  well 
as  in  the  other,  as  is  needful;  and  will,  at  last,  completely  finish 
it;  for  which  the  apostle  prays,  saying,  "And  the  very  God  of 
peace  sanctify  you  wholly;  and  I  pray  God  your  whole  spirit, 
soul  and  body,  be  preserved  blameless  unto  the  coming  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Clirist,"  1  Thess.  v.  23.  Now,  if  the  bodies  of 
these  sanctified  ones  are  not  raised,  the  Spirit  of  God  will  not 
only  lose  that  which  he  has  taken  possession  of,  as  his  dwell- 
ing-place, but  also  a  considerable  part  of  his  glory,  as  a  Sanc- 
tifier. 

6.  It  will  not  be  improper  to  take  notice  of  the  translations 
of  Enoch  and  Elias  to  heaven,  who  were  taken  up  thither,  soul 
and  body;  nor  of  the  saints,  who  came  out  of  their  graves,  after 
our  Lord's  resurrection,  and  went  with  him  to  glory,  as  is  very 
probable;  nor  of  those  who  shall  be  alive  at  Christ's  second 
coming,  who  shall  not  die,  but  be  changed,  and  be  caught  up 
with  the  rest  of  the  saints  in  the  clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the 
air.  Now,  whereas  it  is  certain,  that  there  are  some  saints 
already  in  heaven  with  their  bodies,  and  others  that  will  be,  it 
is  very  improbable  that  the  rest  should  be  without,  or  that  there 
should  be  this  diflerence  among  the  spirits  of  just  men  made 
perfect,  that  some  should  have  their  bodies  united  to  them,  and 
others  not. 

7.  Nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  there  will  be  a  general 
judgment.  "God  has  appointed  the  day  in  which,"  and  or- 
dained the  Person  by  whom,  "  he  will  judge  the  world  in  right- 
eousness," when  all,  both  great  and  small,  shall  stand  before 
God,  and  the  dead  shall  be  judged  according  to  their  works. 
Now,  in  order  to  this,  the  resurrection  of  them  is  absolutely  ne- 
cessary, that  they  may  "  receive  the  things  don,e  in  their  body, 
whether  good  or  bad." 

8.  Neither  the  happiness  of  the  righteous  will  be  complete, 
nor  the  misery  of  the  wicked  be  proportionate  to  their  crimes, 
until  the  resurrection.  The  happiness  of  the  saints  will  not  be 
complete :  hence  they  are  "  waiting  for  the  adoption,  to  wit,  the 
redemption  of  their  body,"  Rom.  viii,  23,  when  that  being  re- 
deemed from  the  grave,  and  united  to  the  soul,  shall,  with  it, 
enter  into  the  joy  of  the  Lord.  Nor  will  the  misery  of  the 
wicked  be  proportionate  to  their  crimes  till  then,  when  they 
shall  be  cast,  body  and  soul,  into  hell ;  and  as  the  one  deserves 
it,  as  well  as  the  other,  it  is  proper  that  so  it  should  be. 

9.  There  will  be  need  of,  and  uses  for  bodily  organs,  or  for 
some  of  the  members  of  the  body  in  heaven;  as  particularly  the 
eye,  the  ear,  and  tongue.  There  will  be  the  glorified  body  of 
Christ,  or  the  glorious  Mediator  in  human  nature,  for  the  saints 
to  look  upon  with  miutterable  pleasure :  it  will  be  a  considera- 
ble part  of  their  happiness  to  "  see  him  as  he  is."  This  is  one 
reason  why  Christ  would  have  his  people  with  him  where  he 


384  OF   THE    RESURRECTION. 

is,  namely,  that  "they  may  behold  his  glory,"  even  this,  as 
well  as  other  branches  of  it ;  and  it  was  Job's  support  under 
his  afflictions,  that  in  his  "flesh  he  should  see  God;"  that  is,  the 
God-man  and  Mediator,  or  "  God  manifest  in  the  flesh."  There 
will  be  songs  of  everlasting  joy  and  praise  sung  in  such  melodi- 
ous strains,  as  will  delight  the  ear,  and  employ  the  tongue 
throughout  the  endless  ages  of  eternity. 

10.  And  lastly,  and  which  is  the  apostle  Paul's  grand  and 
principal  argument  for  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  which 
he  uses  with  so  much  strength,  and  improves  to  so  good  a  pur- 
pose, is  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  you 
have  at  large  in  1  Cor.  xv.,  where  he  thus  argues :  "  If  there  be 
no  resurrection  of  the  dead,  then  is  Christ  not  risen;  and  if 
Christ  be  not  risen,  then  is  our  preaching  vain,  and  your  faith  is 
also  vain;  yea,  and  we  are  found  false  witnesses  of  God,  be- 
cause we  have  testified  of  God,  that  he  raised  up  Christ,  whom 
he  raised  not  up,  if  the  dead  rise  not :  for  if  the  dead  rise  not, 
then  is  Christ  not  raised ;  and  if  Christ  be  not  raised,  your  faith 
is  vain,  ye  are  yet  in  your  sins;  then  they  also  which  are  fallen 
asleep  in  Christ  are  perished."  The  saints  may  comfortably 
conclude  their  resurrection  from  Christ's;  for  if  the  head  be 
raised,  the  members  shall :  "  Every  man  in  his  own  order, 
Christ  the  first  fruits;  afterward,  they  that  are  Christ's,  at  his 
coming."  Job  was  satisfied  that  he  should  rise  again,  because 
his  Redeemer  lived,  and  would  appear  at  the  latter  day  upon 
the  earth;  and  the  saints  may  be  assured,  that  because  "Christ 
lives,  they  shall  live  also,"  Other  arguments  might  have  been 
made  use  of;  but  as  they  will  also  prove  that  the  same  body 
shall  be  raised  again,  I  shall  therefore  reserve  them  for  their  pro- 
per place. 


SERMON  II. 

Acts  xxvi.  8. — Why  should  it  be  thought  a  tiling  incredible  with  you,  that  God 
should  raise  the  dead  ? 

Having,  in  my  former  discourse,  proved  both  the  credibility 
and  certainty  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  I  shall  now  pro- 
xeed, 

III.  To  inquire  who  they  are,  and  what  that  is,  which  shall 
be  raised.  This  head  of  inquiry  consists  of  two  parts,  and 
regards  both  the  persons  who,  and  what  of  those  persons  it  is, 
which  shall  be  the  subject  of  the  resurrection;  and  in  this  order 
I  shall  consider  it. 


OF   THE    RESURRECTION.  385 

1st.  I  shall  inquire  who  they  are  which  shall  be  raised  from 
the  dead.  I  shall  not  take  notice  of  the  Mahometan  notion, 
that  angels  and  brutes  shall  rise,  since  the  former  die  not,  and 
therefore  cannot  be  said  to  be  raised  from  the  dead;  and  the 
spirit  of  the  latter  goeth  downward  to  the  earth,  never  to  return 
more.  Only  men  shall  rise  from  the  dead,  but  not  all  of  them; 
for  though  "  it  is  appointed  unto  men  once  to  die,"  yet  not  unto 
all  men:  all  men  shall  not  die;  some  will  be  alive,  and  others 
dead,  at  the  appearing  of  Christ  to  judge  the  world;  when  they 
that  are  alive  shall,  indeed,  be  changed  from  a  state  of  mor- 
tality, to  a  state  of  immortality,  but  cannot  be  said  to  rise  from 
the  dead,  because  they  die  not.  But  then  all  the  dead  shall  be 
raised;  all  that  are  in  their  graves  shall  come  forth,  whether 
these  graves  be  in  the  earth  or  sea,  and  whether  the  persons 
be  righteous  or  wicked.  This  was  the  generally  received  opi- 
nion of  the  Jews  of  old;  but  since,  many  of  their  greatest  masters 
have  departed  from  it,  as  in  Isa.  xxvi.  14,  19,  and  xxxviii.  18, 
and  Dan.  xii.  2,  who  not  only  exclude  the  Gentiles  in  general, 
but  all  wicked  and  ungodly  persons  whatever  from  having  any 
part  in  the  resurrection.  In  this  they  have  been  followed  by 
the  Socinians,  though  they  care  not  to  speak  out  their  minds 
fully ;  and  the  Remonstrants  have  shown  a  very  good  liking 
of  the  same  notion.  I  shall  a  little  consider  this,  seeing  the 
greater  part  of  the  testimonies  and  arguments  produced  in  my 
former  discourse,  chiefly  relate  to  the  resurrection  of  the  just. 
That  the  wicked  shall  rise,  as  well  as  the  righteous,  may  be 
proved, 

1.  From  express  texts  of  Scripture.  The  prophet  Daniel 
says,  "  That  some  of  them  who  sleep  in  the  dust  of  the  earth, 
[i.  e.  who  are  dead,]  shall  awake,  [i.  e.  rise  again,]  to  shame 
and  everlasting  contempt,"  Dan.  xii.  2 ;  who  must  be  the 
wicked,  since  it  will  never  be  the  case  of  the  righteous,  who 
will  awake,  or  rise,  to  everlasting  life.  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
assures  us,  that  "  they  that  have  done  evil,  shall  come  forth  to 
the  resurrection  of  damnation,"  John  v.  29,  in  which  words  he 
does,  at  once,  describe  the  character  of  the  wicked,  asserts  their 
resurrection,  and  fixes  the  end  of  it.  The  apostle  Paul  gives  a 
full  testimony  to  this  truth,  when  he  affirms,  "  that  there  shall 
be  a  resurrection  of  the  dead,  both  of  the  just  and  unjust,"  Acts 
xxiv.  15. 

2.  This  doctrine  may  be  evinced  from  the  justice  of  God, 
which  requires,  that  they  who  have  sinned  in  the  body,  should 
be  also  punished  in  the  body.  The  body  is  the  seat  of  sin,  as 
well  as  the  soul,  nor  is  any  part  free  from  it:  if  the  tongue, 
which  is  but  "  a  little  member,  is  a  world  of  iniquity,"  James 
iii.  5,  6,  as  the  apostle  James  says  it  is,  what  a  world  of  iniquity 
must  be  in  the  whole  body?  And,  indeed,  there  are  but  few 
sins  but  what  are  committed  in  or  by  the  body.   It  may  be  con- 

49 


3S6  OF   THE    RESURRECTION. 

sidered  not  only  as  accessary  to  sin,  but  as  a  partner  with  the 
soul  in  sinning,  and  as  an  instrument  by  which  it  is  committed; 
and,  in  either  respect,  is  deserving  of  punishment.  Now,  it  is 
certain,  that,  in  this  life,  the  wicked  do  not  receive  in  their  bodies 
the  full  reward  of  punishment,  since  they  have  not  greater 
afflictions  than  the  righteous;  nay,  it  is  observed  of  them,  that 
"  they  are  not  in  trouble,  as  othet  men,  neither  are  they  plagued 
like  other  men,"  Psal.  Ixxiii.  5,  wherefore  it  seems  necessary, 
from  the  justice  of  God,  that  the  bodies  of  the  wicked  should  be 
raised,  that  they,  with  their  souls,  may  receive  the  full  and  just 
recompense  of  reward. 

3.  That  the  wicked  shall  rise  from  the  dead,  may  be  concluded 
from  the  general  judgment,  when  "  the  dead,  small  and  great, 
shall  stand  before  God,  and  be  judged  according  to  their  works," 
Rev.  XX.  12,  15,  when  "  whosoever  is  not  found  written  in  the 
book  of  life,  shall  be  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire ;"  which  can  be 
understood  of  no  other  than  the  wicked;  and  if  all  men  must 
"  appear  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ,  that  every  one  may 
receive  the  things  done  in  his  body,  according  to  that  he  hath 
done,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad,"  2  Cor.  v.  10,  then  must  the 
wicked  appear,  that  they  may  receive  according  to  the  bad 
things  which  they  have  done  in  their  bodies;  in  order  to  which 
appearance  before  the  judgment-seat,  and  to  the  reception  of 
their  evil  things,  there  must  be  a  resurrection  of  them  from  the 
dead. 

4.  The  account  which  the  Scriptures  give  of  the  punishment 
and  torments  of  the  wicked,  and  also  the  effects  thereof,  mani- 
festly supposes  a  resurrection  of  their  bodies:  how  will  every 
eye  see  Christ  when  he  appears,  and  all  the  kindreds  of  the 
earth  wail  because  of  him?  why  is  the  place  of  torment  signi- 
fied by  a  furnace  and  lake  of  fire,  and  by  outer  darkness,  where 
will  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth?  wherefore  do  the  Scrip- 
tures speak  of  being  cast  into  hell  fire,  with  two  eyes,  or  two 
hands,  or  two  feet,  if  there  will  be  no  resurrection  of  the  wicked  ? 
If  it  should  be  said,  that  these  expressions  are  either  metapho- 
rical or  proverbial,  there  must  be  something  literally  true,  to 
which  they  refer,  and  which  is  the  foundation  of  them:  besides, 
our  Lord  expressly  exhorts  his  disciples  to  "  fear  him,  which  is 
able  to  destroy  both  soul  and  body  in  hell,"  Mat.  x.  28. 

5.  This  notion,  that  the  wicked  rise  not,  must  have  a  ten- 
dency to  lice7itiousness,  and  open  a  door  to  all  manner  of  sin, 
and  take  off  all  restraints  from  wicked  persons,  and  embolden 
them  in  their  vicious  course  of  life ;  for  what  the  apostle  says  of 
the  resurrection  in  general,  may  be  said  of  this,  "  If  the  dead 
rise  not,  let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die,"  1  Cor. 
XV.  32.  But  from  these  several  hints,  it  may  be  strongly  con- 
cluded, that  there  will  be  a  resurrection  of  the  wicked,  as  well 
as  of  the  righteous. 


OP  THE   RESURRECTION.  387 

Indeed,  there  will  be  a  difference  between  the  resurrection 
of  the  just,  and  the  resurrection  of  the  unjust,  in  many  respects: 
there  will  be  a  difference  in  the  time  of  the  one  and  the  other; 
the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first;  "the  upright  shall  have  the 
dominion  over  the  wicked  in  the  morning  of  the  resurrection;" 
wherefore  "blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  hath  part  in  the  first 
resurrection;  on  such  the  second  death  hath  no  power."  And 
as  they  shall  not  rise  at  the  same  time,  so  neither  altogether  by 
the  same  means:  they  shall,  indeed,  be  both  raised  by  Christ; 
for  "all  that  are  in  the  graves  shall  hear  his  voice,  and  shall 
come  forth,"  John  v.  28,  29.  The  saints  will  be  raised  by  vir- 
tue of  their  union  to  Christ;  "because  he  lives,  they  shall  live 
also;"  but  the  wicked  will  be  raised  merely  by  the  power  of 
Christ,  in  order  to  appear  before  him,  and  be  judged  by  him, 
who  is  Lord  of  all.  Moreover,  though  the  bodies  of  the  wicked 
will  be  raised  immortal,  and  in  such  a  state  as  to  continue  under 
perpetual  punishment,  yet  they  will  not  be  free  from  sin,  nor 
clothed  with  glory;  whereas  the  bodies  of  the  saints  will  not 
only  be  raised  immortal  and  incorruptible,  but  powerful,  spirit- 
ual, and  glorious;  yea,  will  be  fashioned  like  to  Christ's  glorious 
body.  In  fine,  the  resurrection  of  the  righteous  and  the  wicked 
will  differ  in  their  end ;  "  the  righteous  will  rise  to  everlasting 
life,  the  wicked  to  everlasting  shame  and  contempt."  Hence 
the  resurrection  of  the  one  is  called  "  the  resurrection  of  life ;" 
and  the  resurrection  of  the  other,  "  the  resurrection  of  damna- 
tion." But  now  let  us  attend  to  the  arguments  and  objections 
advanced  against  the  resurrection  of  the  wicked,  which  are  taken 
partly  from  Scripture,  and  partly  from  reason. 

(1.)  From  some  passages  of  Scripture;  and  the  first  that  is 
objected  is,  Psal.  i.  5:  "Therefore  the  ungodly  shall  not  stand 
in  the  judgment,  nor  sinners  in  the  congregation  of  the  right- 
eous." From  hence  some  Jewish  writers  have  concluded,  that 
there  will  be  no  resurrection  of  the  wicked,  their  souls  perish- 
ing with  their  bodies  at  death.  This  notion  may  seem  to  be 
favoured  by  the  versions  of  the  Septuagint  and  Vulgate,  with 
some  others,  who  read  the  words  thus :  "  Therefore  the  ungodly 
shall  not  rise  again  in  judgment."  But  supposing,  and  not 
granting,  that  these  versions  may  be  agreeable  to  the  Hebrew 
text,  it  will  not  follow,  from  hence,  that  the  wicked  shall  not 
rise  again;  for  it  is  not  said  absolutely,  that  "they  shall  not  rise 
again,"  but  that  "  they  shall  not  rise  again  in  Judgment  ;"  that 
is,  so  as  to  appear  in  the  congregation  of  the  righteous  at  the 
day  of  judgment,  when  the  righteous  and  the  wicked  will  be 
separated,  the  one  placed  at  Christ's  right  hand,  and  the  other 
at  his  left;  they  will  not  rise  when  the  righteous  do;  for  "the 
dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first:"  the  wicked,  though  they  will 
rise  again,  yet  not  in  the  first  resurrection,  or  in  the  resurrection 
of  life,  but  in  the  resurrection  of  damnation.     Moreover,  the 


388  OF   THE    RESURRECTION. 

word  here  used  does  not  intend  the  resurrection  of  the  ivicked, 
but  their  standing  before  God  in  a.  judicial  sense  when  raised; 
and  the  meaning  is,  that  they  will  not  be  able  to  stand,  when 
the  righteous  Judge  appears,  with  any  degree  of  confidence,  so 
as  not  to  be  ashamed,  as  the  righteous  will ;  but,  being  filled 
with  confusion  and  horror  of  mind,  will  not  he  able  to  lift  up 
their  heads,  or  open  their  mouth  to  justify  themselves,  or  vin- 
dicate their  cause,  and  so  consequently  must  fall,  and  not  stand, 
in  judgment. 

Another  scripture,  which  may  seem  to  countenance  this  no- 
tion, that  the  wicked  shall  not  rise  from  the  dead,  is  Isa.  xxvi. 
14:  "They  are  dead,  they  shall  not  live;  they  are  deceased, 
they  shall  not  rise."  But  these  words,  as  I  have  observed  in 
mjr  former  discourse,  are  either  to  be  understood  of  the  people 
of  Israel,  and  are  expressive  of  the  prophet's  complaint  of  their 
present  state,  that  they  were  dead,  and  of  his  distrust  of  their 
future  resurrection,  to  which  he  has  an  answer  returned  in  ver. 
19:  "Thy  dead  men  shall  live,  together  with  my  dead  body 
shall  they  arise;"  or  they  are  to  be  understood  of  those  wicked 
lords,  who  had  formerly  had  the  dominion  over  these  people, 
but  were  now  dead,  and  should  not  live  again  on  this  earth,  or 
rise  again  to  tyrannize  over  them :  and,  if  we  consider  the  words 
in  either  sense,  they  cannot  support  an  argument  against  the 
resurrection  of  the  wicked. 

The  words  of  the  prophet  Daniel,  "And  many  of  them  who 
sleep  in  the  dust  of  the  earth  shall  awake ;  some  to  everlasting 
life,  and  some  to  shame  and  everlasting  contempt,"  Dan.  xii.  2, 
though  they  are  a  plain  and  full  proof  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
wicked,  as  well  as  of  the  righteous,  yet  are  made  use  of  by  some 
Jewish  writers  against  it.  It  is  observed,  that  the  prophet  does 
not  say  that  all  of  them,  but  many  of  them  that  sleep  in  the 
dust  of  the  earth  shall  awake;  yea,  it  is  said,  that  these  many 
design  only  a  few,  and  these  the  righteous,  among  the  children 
of  Israel.  In  answer  to  which,  let  it  be  observed,  that  the  word 
m,any  may  be  understood  universally  of  all  that  sleep  in  the 
dust  of  the  earth;  in  which  sense  the  word  is  used  in  Psal.  xcvii. 
1:  "The  Lord  reigneth,  let  the  earth  rejoice;  let  the  multitudes 
of  isles  be  glad  thereof;"  in  the  Hebrew  text  it  is,  let  many  isles, 
i.  e.  let  all  the  isles  be  glad  thereof.  Or  it  may  be  consider- 
ed in  a  comparative  sense,  thus:  they  that  sleep  in  the  dust  of 
the  earth,  and  shall  awake,  are  many  in  comparison  of  those 
few  who  will  be  alive  and  remain,  when  the  dead  are  to  be 
raised;  for  there  will  be  some,  though  but  a  few,  when  com- 
pared with  others,  who  shall  not  die,  but  be  changed :  or  rather 
the  words  may  be  taken  distributively  after  this  manner;  of 
them  that  sleep  in  the  dust  of  the  earth,  many  shall  awake  to 
everlasting  life,  and  many  to  everlasting  shame  and  contempt ; 
which  is  just  such  a  division  of  them,  who  are  to  be  raised  from 


OF   THE    RESURRECTION.  389 

the  dead,  as  is  given  by  our  Lord,  when  he  says,  "All  that  are 
in  their  graves  shall  hear  his  voice,  and  shall  come  forth ;  they 
that  have  done  good,  unto  the  resurrection  of  life;  and  they 
that  have  done  evil,  unto  the  resurrection  of  damnation,"  John 
V.  29.  Many  can  never  design  ?<.few  only,  as  it  must,  if  only 
the  Israelites,  who  were  the  fewest  of  all  people,  and  the  right- 
eous among  them,  are  the  subjects  of  the  resurrection:  yea,  if 
the  righteous  only  of  all  nations  should  be  raised,  they  are  but 
a  few  in  comparison  of  others.  Besides,  the  prophet  says,  that 
"  some  shall  awake  to  everlasting  shame,"  which  cannot  be 
said  of  the  righteous,  but  must  design  the  wicked :  therefore  this 
prophecy  is  so  far  from  being  an  argument  against  it,  that  it 
furnishes  us  with  a  very  considerable  one  for  the  resurrection 
of  the  wicked. 

There  are  some  other  passages  of  Scripture,  besides  these, 
which  are  made  use  of  by  another  set  of  men  against  this  truth; 
as  Eccl.  vii.  10:  "A  good  name  is  better  than  precious  ointment, 
and  the  day  of  death  than  the  day  of  one's  birth."  Now,  say 
they,  if  the  wicked  rise  again,  the  day  of  their  death  must  be 
worse  than  the  day  of  their  birth.  To  which  it  may  be  answer- 
ed, that  the  wise  man  is  not  speaking  of  the  wicked  or  repro- 
bate, of  whom  it  may  be  said,  in  some  sense,  that  it  would  have 
been  better  if  they  had  never  been  born,  or  had  died  immedi- 
ately, rather  than  have  lived  to  aggravate  their  condemnation 
by  repeated  iniquities,  and  with  whom  it  certainly  will  be  much 
worse  after  death,  than  now  it  is.  The  words  respect  the  right- 
eous, who  are  blessed  in  their  death ;  for  they  die  in  the  Lord, 
and  rest  from  their  labours,  are  free  from  sin  and  sorrow  of 
every  kind,  and  are  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better  than  to 
come  into  and  be  in  this  troublesome  world. 

Likewise  the  words  of  the  apostle  Paul,  in  1  Thess.  iv.  16: 
"And  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first,"  are  urged  against  the 
resurrection  of  the  wicked ;  from  whence  it  is  observed,  that 
those  who  rise  again,  are  such  who  are  "  dead  in  Christ,"  and 
that  these  only  are  believers;  and  therefore  the  wicked  shall 
not  rise.  To  which  it  may  be  replied,  that  the  apostle  is  indeed 
speaking  of  the  resurrection  of  the  saints,  and  not  of  the  wicked, 
tliough  not  to  the  exclusion  of  their  resurrection.  It  is  certain 
that  they  are  only  believers  who  are  dead  in  Christ ;  but  then 
it  is  neither  here,  nor  elsewhere  said,  that  only  believers,  or  that 
only  such  who  die  in  Christ,  shall  rise;  yea,  besides,  the  apostle 
says,  "  that  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first,"  which  supposes 
that  the  wicked  shall  rise  afterwards;  for  it  would  be  an  impro- 
priety to  say,  that  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first,  if  those  who 
are  not  dead  in  Christ  do  not  rise  afterwards;  a  first  resurrection 
supposes  a  second. 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  consider  the  arguments  and  objections 
formed  against  the  resurrection  of  the  wicked,  which  are  taken, 


390  OF   THE   RESURRECTION. 

(2.)  From  reason.  It  is  said  that  God  is  very  merciful,  and 
therefore  if  he  will  not  eternally  save  the  wicked,  yet  it  is  not 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  he  will  raise  them  from  the  dead 
merely  to  torment  them ;  it  will  be  sufficient  that  they  do  not 
enjoy  the  happiness  of  the  saints  in  heaven.  To  which  I 
answer:  it  is  true,  that  God  is  very  merciful,  yet  "he  will  have 
mercy  on  whom  he  will  have  mercy."  Though  mercy  is 
natural  and  essential  to  him,  yet  the  blessed  fruits  and  efiects 
of  it,  as  enjoyed  by  his  creatures,  are  limited  by,  and  dependent 
upon  his  sovereign  will  and  pleasure;  there  are  some  of  his 
creatures,  of  whom  it  is  said,  "  He  that  made  them  will  not 
have  mercy  on  them;  and  he  that  formed  them  will  show  them 
no  favour,"  Isa.  xxvii.  11.  Besides,  it  ought  to  be  observed, 
that  God  is  a  righteous  God,  as  well  as  merciful,  and  that  one 
perfection  of  his  is  not  to  be  set  against  another;  though  he  is 
merciful,  and  delights  in  mercy,  yet  he  is  also  "  the  Judge  of  all 
the  earth,  who  will  do  right."  I  have  before  proved,  that  it  is 
necessary,  from  the  justice  of  God,  that  the  bodies  of  the  wicked 
should  be  raised,  not  merely  to  be  tormented,  but  that  God  may 
glorify  his  righteousness  in  their  just  punishment. 

It  is  also  argued,  that  Christ  is  the  meritorious  cause  of  the 
resurrection;  and  therefore  the  wicked,  or  reprobate,  shall  not 
rise  again,  because  "  Christ  has  merited  nothing  for  them."  To 
which  I  reply,  the  resurrection  may  be  distinguished,  as  it  is  by 
Christ,  into  a  resurrection  of  life,  and  a  resurrection  of  damna- 
tion; that  Christ  is  the  meritorious  cause  of  the  former,  but  not 
of  the  latter.  Christ  is  not  only  the  exemplar,  but  the  efficient 
and  meritorious  cause  of  the  saints'  resurrection;  "he  is  the 
first-fruits  of  them  that  sleep;  every  one  rises  in  his  own  order; 
Christ  the  first  fruits,  afterwards  they  that  are  Christ's  at  his 
coming."  They  that  are  Christ's,  rise  by  virtue  of  their  union 
to  him,  and  through  the  power  of  his  resurrection;  not  so  the 
wicked;  they  shall,  indeed,  be  raised  by  Christ,  but  not  by  virtue 
of  his  death  and  resurrection,  or  through  any  merit  of  his,  but 
by  his  almighty  power;  their  resurrection  will  not  be  the  eifect 
of  his  merit,  as  Mediator,  but  of  his  divine  power,  as  Lord  of 
the  dead  and  living. 

It  is  further  urged,  that  the  Avicked  die  an  eternal  death,  and 
therefore  do  not  rise  from  the  dead ;  for,  say  they,  it  implies  a 
contradiction  to  say  that  they  die  an  eternal  death,  and  yet  are 
raised  from  the  dead.  To  which  it  may  be  answered,  that  there 
is  a  twofold  death,  a  temporal  and  an  eternal  one.  Temporal 
death  is  a  separation  of  the  soul  from  the  body,  and  is  what 
may  be  called  the  first  death.  Eternal  death  is  a  separation 
of  body  and  soul  from  God,  and  a  casting  of  both  into  hell, 
which  is  what  the  Scripture  calls  the  second  death.  Now,  this 
second  or  eternal  death  is  consistent  with  the  resurrection  of  the 
body;  nay,  the  resurrection  of  the  body  is  requisite  unto  it.     If 


OF   THE    RESURRECTION.  391 

it  should  be  said,  as  it  is,  that  corporeal  death  is  the  punishment 
of  sin,  that  punishment  is  not  taken  away  in  the  wicked,  and 
therefore  corporeal  death  perpetually  continues,  and  conse- 
quently there  is  no  resurrection  of  the  wicked  from  the  dead.  I 
answer,  it  is  true  that  corporeal  death  is  one  part  of  the  punish- 
ment of  sin,  was  at  first  threatened  against  it  by  God,  and  is  in- 
flicted on  the  wicked,  as  the  just  wages  of  it.  It  is  true  also  that 
the  punishment  of  sin  is  perpetual,  and  is  not  removed,  or  taken 
away  from  the  wicked;  nor  is  it  by  the  resurrection  of  the 
wicked,  for  their  bodies  will  be  raised  by  the  power  of  God,  in 
such  a  state  and  condition,  as  to  bear  eternal  punishment,  which 
shall  be  inflicted  upon  them,  and  which  they  shall  endure  both 
in  soul  and  body. 

It  is  scarcely  worthy  of  notice  what  is  objected  by  some  against 
an  universal  resurrection,  that  the  earth  will  not  be  sufficient  to 
contain  all.  This  objection  may  be  startling  to  such  as  sup- 
pose that  all  men,  righteous  and  wicked,  when  raised,  will  be 
gathered  together  into  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  and  be  there 
judged  ;  for  if  the  whole  earth  cannot  contain  them,  how  should 
that  valley?  If  it  could  be  thought  that  there  is  any  difficulty 
in  the  objection,  it  might  be,  in  some  measure,  removed,  by 
observing,  that  whereas  "  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first, 
they,  with  them  that  will  be  found  alive,  will  be  caught  up 
together  in  the  clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air,  and  shall  be 
for  ever  with  him;"  so  that  the  earth  will  be  left  to  the  wicked, 
and,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  it  may  be  allowed  there  will  be  room 
enough  for  them.  From  the  whole,  notwithstanding  all  these 
objections,  it  may  be  strongly  concluded,  that  there  will  be  a 
general  resurrection  of  all  mankind,  both  Jews  and  Gentiles,  of 
all  the  wicked,  and  of  all  the  righteous,  in  all  nations.  I  now 
proceed, 

'H.dly.  To  inquire  what  that  is  of  man  which  shall  be  raised 
from  the  dead.  Man  consists  of  soul  and  body;  it  is  not  the 
soul,  but  the  body,  which  is  raised :  not  the  soul,  for  the  soul 
dies  not,  and  therefore  cannot  be  said  to  be  raised  from  the 
dead ;  nor  does  it  sleep  with  the  body  in  the  grave,  and  there- 
fore needs  no  awakening,  nor  will  it  be  awakened  when  the 
body  is. 

[1.]  It  dies  not,  and  therefore  cannot  be  said  to  rise  from  the 
dead.  There  were  some  Christians  in  Arabia  who  held  that 
the  soul  died  with  the  body,  and,  at  the  resurrection,  revived 
and  returned  to  its  own  body;  but  it  is  an  immaterial  and  im- 
mortal substance,  which  never  dies.  I  do  not  propose  to  give 
you  an  elaborate  discourse  on  this  subject,  and  go  through  the 
argument  of  the  soul's  immortality;  this  would  require  greater 
abilities  than  I  am  master  of,  and  a  larger  compass  than  is 
allowed  me  for  my  subiect.     I  shall  just  mention  two  or  three 


392  OF   THE    RESURRECTION. 

things  upon  this  head,  in  proof  of  the  soul's  immortaUty;  which 
may  be  taken, 

1.  From  the  nature  of  the  soul  itself.  It  is  of  the  same  nature 
with  angels,  who  are  immaterial  and  incorporeal  spirits,  and  so 
not  subject  to  corruption  and  death;  they  die  not :  yea,  the  soul 
of  man  has  a  likeness  to  God ;  it  bears  a  resemblance  to  the 
divine  nature.  The  image  of  God  in  man  chiefly  and  princi- 
pally consists  in  the  soul;  it  is  of  God's  immediate  creation  :  it 
comes  from  him  and  is  the  very  breath  of  him.  If  we  con- 
sider its  several  powers  and  faculties,  especially  the  understand- 
ing and  will,  we  may  well  conclude  it  to  be  an  immortal  and 
never-dying  substance.  The  mind  or  understanding  not  only 
apprehends  and  perceives  things  corporeal,  temporal,  and  cor- 
ruptible, but  also  such  things  as  are  immaterial,  incorporeal, 
eternal,  and  incorruptible;  such  as  angels,  yea,  God  himself, 
which  it  could  not  do,  was  it  not  itself  an  immaterial,  incorpo- 
real, and  immortal  substance.  It  is  capable  of  considering  an 
endless  eternity,  though  it  is  easy  to  observe  the  difference 
there  is  in  the  mind  or  understanding  of  man,  with  respect  to 
that  eternity,  which  preceded  the  creation  of  the  world,  and  that 
which  is  to  come ;  when  it  considers  the  former,  it  is  quickly 
overwhelmed,  it  flutters  and  hangs  its  wing,  and  is  obliged  to 
descend :  but  when  it  fixes  its  thoughts  upon  the  latter,  how 
readily  does  it  apprehend  how  it  shall  proceed  without  end;  and 
with  what  pleasure  does  it  roll  over  the  millions  of  ages  in  it ! 
The  reason  of  this  difference  is,  because  it  is  not  from  eternity, 
and  has  a  beginning,  but  will  continue  to  eternity,  and  have  no 
end.  And,  besides  that  large  stock  of  knowledge  of  various 
things,  which  men  of  the  greatest  understandings  are  furnished 
with,  there  is  a  natural  and  continual  desire  of  knowing  more, 
which  will  never  be  satisfied  in  this  life;  and  this  was  one  of 
the  chief  arguments  Socrates  used  when  in  prison,  to  prove  to 
his  scholars  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  for  this  desire  is  not  im- 
planted in  vain:  the  soul  therefore  must  remain  after  death, 
when  it  will  arrive  to  a  more  perfect  knowledge  of  things.  The 
will  has  for  its  object  universal  good,  and  especially  God,  who 
is  the  chief  good,  which  it  desires  to  enjoy  for  ever:  its  actions 
are  free,  and  cannot  be  forced  by  any  creature ;  no  creature  has 
a  power  over  it,  to  force  it  or  destroy  it ;  it  acts  independently 
of  the  body,  in  willing  and  nilling,  choosing  and  refusing ;  it 
uses  no  corporeal  organ:  yea,  when  the  body  is  sick  and  infirm, 
and  ready  to  die,  the  will  is  then  active  and  vigorous,  and  shows 
itself  to  be  so,  either  by  a  willingness  or  unwillingness  to  die ; 
nay,  generally  speaking,  the  more  severe  affliction  is,  and  the 
nearer  the  approach  of  death,  the  more  active  is  the  will  to  be 
freed  from  agonies  and  pains,  either  by  a  restoration  to  health, 
or  by  a  removal  by  death;  which  shows  that  the  soul  does  not 


OF   THE    RESURRECTION.  393 

sicken  and  grow  languid,  as  the  body  does,  nor  dies  with  it.  The 
soul  is  a  pure  unmixed  and  simple  substance:  it  is  not  com- 
posed of  matter  and  form;  nor  is  it  a  material  form,  educed  out 
of  the  power  of  matter,  as  the  souls  of  brutes,  but  is  altogether 
spiritual  and  immaterial ;  it  is  not  of  a  body  made  up  of  the  four 
elements,  fire,  water,  earth,  and  air,  which  is  capable  of  being 
resolved  into  them  again,  as  our  bodies  are;  it  has  nothing  con- 
trary to  itself,  which  can  be  destructive  of  it;  it  is  neither  hot 
nor  cold,  moist  or  dry,  hard  or  tender:  it  is  not  as  an  accident 
in  a  subject,  which,  when  the  subject  is  destroyed,  is  destroyed 
with  it;  if  it  has  any  subject  on  which  it  depends,  it  must  be 
the  body;  but  it  is  so  far  from  being  dependent  on  the  body,  and 
perishing  with  it,  that,  on  the  contrary,  when  the  soul  departs, 
the  body  perishes.  The  soul  has  no  other  cause  of  its  being  but 
God ;  on  him  it  depends,  and  by  him  it  is  preserved.  He,  indeed, 
could,  if  he  would,  annihilate,  or  reduce  it  to  nothing;  but,  since 
it  is  evident  he  will  not,  we  may  conclude  it  is  immortal,  and 
will  never  die. 

2.  The  immortality  of  the  soul  may  be  proved  from  the  laio 
of  nature,  the  religion  of  mankind,  the  consciousness  of  sinful 
actions,  and  the  fears  and  terrors  of  mind  arising  from  thence, 
and  also  from  the  justice  of  God.  "  The  consent  of  all  nations," 
Cicero  says,  "  is  to  be  reckoned  the  law  of  nature  ;"  and  accord- 
ing to  him,  it  is  "  the  agreement  of  all  nations,  that  the  soul  re- 
mains after  death,  and  is  immortal,"  This,  in  general,  may  be 
true,  and  deserves  notice,  and  is  no  inconsiderable  proof  of  the 
soul's  immortality;  but  it  must  be  owned,  that  there  are  many 
exceptions  to  it:  some,  even  of  the  philosophers  denied  it, 
and  others  of  them,  who  gave  into  it,  spoke  very  doubtfully 
and  confusedly  of  it,  and  delivered  their  sentiments  about  it, 
to  use  the  words  of  Minutius  Felix,  corrupta  et  dimidiata 
fide,  with  a  corrupt  and  divided  faith,  as  though  they  did  but 
half  believe  it. 

The  immortality  of  the  soul,  is  no  doubt,  discoverable  by  the 
hght  of  nature,  and  was  originally  the  belief  of  men ;  but  as  this 
light  became  dim  by  sin,  and  as  men  departed  from  the  true 
religion,  and  went  further  off  from  the  professors  of  it,  so  they 
became  vainer  in  their  imaginations,  and  their  foolish  heart  was 
darkened,  and  lost  not  only  the  knowledge  of  this,  but  many 
other  truths.  Thales  the  Milesian  is  said  to  be  the  first  who 
taught  it ;  though  others  say,  that  Pherecydes  the  Scyrian  was 
the  first  who  asserted  it.  Some  ascribe  it  to  the  Chaldeans  and 
Indian  Magi,  and  others  to  the  Egyptians,  as  the  first  authors 
of  it,  who,  perhaps,  received  it  from  the  posterity  of  Abraham 
the  Chaldean,  who  dwelt  among  them.  However,  it  is  certain, 
that  there  is  in  man  a  natural  desire  after  immortality,  which 
is  not  in  any  but  immortal  creatures;  as  it  is  also  natural  to 
him  to  be  religious,  hence  some  have  chosen  rather  to  define 

50 


394  OF   THE   RESURRECTION. 

man  a  religious  than  a  rational  animal:  all  nations  profess 
some  religion,  and  keep  up  some  kind  of  religious  worship;  the 
most  blind  and  ignorant,  barbarous  and  savage,  are  not  with- 
out it.  Now,  to  what  purpose  is  their  religion?  and  why  do 
they  worship  a  deity,  if  there  is  no  future  state  ?  If  the  soul  re- 
mains not  after  death,  but  at  death  perishes  with  the  body,  they 
need  not  be  solicitous  about  the  worship  of  God,  and  the  per- 
formance of  religious  exercises,  but  say,  "  Let  us  eat  and  drink, 
for  to-morrow  we  shall  die;"  nor  be  diligent  in  the  exercise  of 
virtue,  or  be  concerned  at  the  commission  of  sin.  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  is  evident  that  there  is  a  consciousness  of  sin  in 
men,  or  there  is  in  men  a  "  conscience  bearing  witness,  and  their 
thoughts  the  meanwhile  accusing,  or  else  excusing,  one  an- 
other." There  are  dreadful  horrors,  terrors,  and  stings  of  con- 
science, which  wicked  men  are,  at  times,  attended  with;  they 
are  seized  with  such  dread  and  trembling,  with  such  panic  fears, 
they  cannot  get  rid  of 

If  these,  as  some  say,  were  the  effects  of  education,  it  is 
strange  that  they  should  be  so  general  and  extensive  as  they  are, 
and  more  strange  that  none  have  been  able  to  shake  them  off 
entirely;  and  stranger  still,  that  those  who  have  run  the  greatest 
lengths  in  infidelity  and  atheism,  should  not  be  able  to  free 
themselves  from  them.  Hobbes,  that  bold  advocate  for  infidel- 
ity, who  endeavoured  to  harden  himself  and  others,  in  the  dis- 
belief of  a  future  state,  would  be  very  uneasy,  if,  at  any  time, 
he  was  alone  in  the  dark.  These  things  not  only  show  that 
there  is  a  divine  Being,  to  whom  men  are  accountable  for  their 
actions,  but  that  there  is  a  future  state  after  death,  in  which  men 
shall  live,  either  in  happiness  or  in  misery.  And,  indeed,  this  is 
necessary  from  the  justice  of  God,  who  is  the  Judge  of  all  the 
earth,  and  will  do  right,  in  regarding  the  good,  and  punishing 
the  wicked.  It  is  easy  to  observe,  that  in  this  life,  good  men 
are  afflicted,  and  the  wicked  prosper :  there  are  innumerable  in- 
stances of  this  kind;  the  veracity,  justice,  and  faithfulness  of 
God  are  not  so  manifestly  seen  in  bestowing  favours  and  blessings 
upon  good  men,  according  to  his  promises,  and  in  punishing 
wicked  men,  according  to  his  threatenings ;  it  seems  reason- 
able then  to  suppose,  that  the  souls  of  men  are  immortal,  that 
their  bodies  shall  be  raised  from  the  dead,  and  that  there  will 
be  a  future  state,  in  which  good  men  shall  be  happy,  and  wicked 
men  miserable. 

3.  The  soul's  immortality  maybe  proved  from  the  Scriptures, 
which  expressly  declare  that  the  body  may  be  killed,  the  soul 
cannot;  Mat.  x.  28,  Eccl.  xii.  7 ;  and  that  when  "the  dust  shall 
return  to  the  earth,  as  it  was,  the  Spirit  shall  return  to  God  that 
gave  it."  It  may  be  concluded,  from  all  those  scriptures,  Isa.  Iv. 
3;  JVIat.  xxii.  32;  John  vi.  40,  47,  which  speak  of  an  everlasting 
covenant  v/hich  God  has  made  with  his  people,  "for  God  is  not 


OF   THE    RESURRECTION.  395 

the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living;"  and  from  all  the  pro- 
mises of  everlasting  life,  which  he  has  made  unto  them;  as  also 
from  the  account  it  gives  of  the  eager  desires  of  the  saints  after 
future  happiness,  Phil.  i.  23.  2  Cor.  v.  6,  8,  and  of  their  assur- 
ance of  enjoying  it  upon  their  dissolution,  as  well  as  from  their 
particular  commendation  of  tlieir  souls,  Psal.  xlix.  15,  Acts  vii. 
59,  Luke  xxii.  46,  or  spirits,  into  the  hands  of  God  at  death, 
recorded  in  these  writings.  And,  to  add  no  more,  we  may  be 
fully  satisfied,  by  the  sacred  oracles,  Luke  xvi.  22,  23.  Rev.  vi. 
9.  1  Pet.  iii.  19.  that  the  souls  of  men,  immediately  upon  the 
dissolution  of  their  bodies,  enter  upon  a  state  either  of  happiness 
or  misery;  all  which  proves  the  permanency  of  the  soul  after 
death,  its  separate  existence,  its  future  state  or  condition,  either 
of  pleasure  or  pain.  From  the  whole  it  follows,  that  if  the  soul 
dies  not,  it  cannot  be  said  to  be  raised  from  the  dead,  or  be  the 
subject  of  the  resurrection. 

[2.]  The  soul  sleeps  not  with  the  body  until  the  resurrection, 
and  therefore  needs  no  awakening,  and  cannot  be  said  to  be 
raised  or  awakened  when  the  body  is.  The  Socinians,  and 
some  of  the  Arminians  say,  that  the  soul,  after  death,  is  in  a 
deep  sleep,  is  insensible  of  happiness  or  misery,  and  destitute 
of  all  sense  and  operation.  For  the  confutation  of  which  sleepy 
notion,  let  the  following  things  be  considered: 

1.  That  sleep  belongs  to  the  body,  and  not  to  the  soul. 

2.  When  the  body  is  asleep,  the  soul  is  aivake  and  active,  as 
is  evident  in  abundance  of  instances  from  dreams  and  visions 
of  the  night:  when  deep  sleep  falleth  upon  man,  the  soul  under- 
stands and  perceives,  devises  and  contrives,  reasons  and  dis- 
courses, chooses  and  refuses,  grieves  and  rejoices,  hopes  and 
fears,  loves  and  hates,  and  the  like.  Of  like  nature  are  ecsta- 
sies and  raptures,  when  the  body  lies,  as  it  were,  dead,  sense- 
less, and  void  of  motion :  such  was  the  apostle's  case,  when  he 
says,  "  He  knew  not  whether  he  was  in  the  body,  or  out  of  the 
body,"  2  Cor.  xii.  4,  5,  and  yet  his  soul  was  capable  of  receiving 
divine  things,  of  seeing  such  sights,  and  hearing  such  words, 
which  was  neither  lawful  nor  possible  for  him  to  express. 

3.  The  soul  being  freed  from  the  body,  must  be  more  active 
than  when  in  it,  especially  as  it  is  corrupted  with  sin,  whereby 
it  becomes  a  clog  and  an  incumbrance  to  it,  and  a  weight  about 
it,  so  that  it  cannot,  as  it  would,  perform  spiritual  duties;  "  The 
spirit  is  willing,  but  the  flesh  is  weak:"  but  now,  when  it  is 
freed  from  the  body,  and  joined  to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made 
perfect,  it  must  be  more  capable  of  serving  God  with  spiritual 
joy  and  pleasure. 

4.  The  soul  separate  from  the  body  is  most  like  to  the  angels^ 
and  its  state,  condition,  and  employment,  much  resemble  theirs; 
now,  nothing  is  more  foreign  to  angels  than  sleep  and  inactivity, 
who  always  behold  the  face  of  God,  stand  ready  to  do  his  com- 


396  OF   THE    RESURRECTION. 

mandments,  hearkening  to  the  voice  of  his  word;  and  no  sooner 
do  they  receive  orders  from  him,  but  they  do  his  pleasure;  they 
are  continually  before  the  throne  of  God,  praising  his  name, 
celebrating  the  divine  perfections,  and  "  rest  not  day  and  night, 
saying,  Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God  Almighty,  which  was,  and 
is,  and  is  to  come." 

5.  If  the  souls  of  believers  were,  after  death,  to  remain  in  a 
state  of  insensibiUty  and  inactivity,  then  the  case  oi  departed 
saints  would  be  much  worse  than  that  of  the  living;  for  though 
the  saints  are  now  disturbed  with  a  wicked  and  unbelieving 
heart,  afflicted  with  Satan's  temptations,  and  exercised  with  a 
variety  of  sorrows,  yet  at  times  they  have  communion  with 
God  through  Christ,  the  discoveries  of  his  love  to  their  souls, 
the  light  of  his  countenance,  and  the  comforts  of  his  Spirit;  they 
have  the  word  and  ordinances  to  refresh  and  support  them,  and 
are  employed  in  the  exercise  of  grace  and  discharge  of  duty;  all 
which  is  both  edifying  and  delightful  to  them,  and  which  saints 
departed  are  deprived  of,  if  this  is  their  case,  that  their  souls 
sleep  with  their  bodies  until  the  resurrection.  If  this  be  true, 
it  would  have  been  much  better  for  the  apostle  Paul,  and  I  am 
sure,  more  to  the  advantage  of  the  churches  of  Christ,  if  he  had 
continued  upon  earth  to  this  day,  than  to  be  sleeping  in  his 
grave,  senseless  and  inactive.  Certainly  this  great  man  knew 
nothing  of  this  when  he  said,  "  For  to  me  to  live  is  Christ,  and 
to  die  is  gain:  but  if  I  live  in  the  flesh,  this  is  the  fruit  of  my 
labour;  yet  what  I  shall  choose  I  wot  not.  For  I  am  in  a  strait 
between  two,  having  a  desire  to  depart,  and  to  be  with  Christ, 
which  is  far  better:  nevertheless,  to  abide  in  the  flesh,  is  more 
needful  for  you,"  Phil.  i.  21 — 24.  Had  the  apostle  known  that 
he  must  have  remained  in  a  state  of  inactivity  and  uselessness, 
deprived  of  the  communion  of  Christ  and  his  church,  it  would 
have  been  no  difliculty  with  him  to  determine  which  was  most 
eligible,  to  live  or  die ;  nor  can  it  be  imagined,  that  the  desires 
of  any  of  the  saints  would  be  so  strong  after  a  dissolution,  as 
they  sometimes  are,  when  they  say,  we  are  "  willing  rather  to 
be  absent  from  the  body,"  if  they  did  not  believe  that  they 
should  be  immediately  "  present  with  the  Lord,"  2  Cor.  v.  8. 
This  notion,  then,  makes  the  condition  of  saints  departed  worse 
than  that  of  the  living,  whereas  the  wise  man  says,  "  I  praised 
the  dead,  which  are  already  dead,  more  than  the  living,  which 
are  yet  alive,"  Eccl.  iv.  2:  the  reason  is,  because  "blessed  are 
the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord,  from  henceforth;  yea,  saith  the 
Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their  labours,  and  their  works 
do  follow  them,"  Rev.  xiv.  13.  As  soon  as  dead,  they  enter 
upon  a  state  of  happiness  and  joy,  and  are  employed  in  praising 
God,  and  singing  the  Lamb's  new  song. 

6.  This  notion  is  contrary  to  many  places  of  Scripture,  Eccl. 
xii.  7;  2  Cor.  v.  1,  8,  which  assure  us,  that  the  soul  after  death 


OF  THE   RESURRECTION.  397 

returns  to  God  that  gave  it,  has  a  house  not  made  with  hands, 
eternal  in  the  heavens,  into  which  it  is  received,  when  dislodged 
from  the  earthly  house  of  its  tabernacle,  where  it  is  present  with 
the  Lord,  enjoying  uninterrupted  communion  with  him,  "  in 
whose  presence  is  fulness  of  joy,  and  at  whose  right  hand  are 
pleasures  for  evermore."  This  was  what  Christ  promised  the 
thief  upon  the  cross,  when  he  said  to  him,  "  This  day  thou  shalt 
be  with  me  in  paradise,"  Luke  xxiii.  43,  which  would  not  have 
been  true,  if  his  soul  slept  with  his  body  until  the  resurrection. 
The  apostle  John  says,  that  he  "  saw  under  the  altar,  the  souls 
of  them  that  were  slain  for  the  word  of  God,  and  for  the  testi- 
mony which  they  held,"  Rev.  vi.  9, 10,  and  we  may  be  assured, 
that  these  souls  were  not  asleep ;  for  of  them  he  says,  "  And 
they  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying,  How  long,  0  Lord,  holy 
and  true,  dost  thou  not  judge  and  avenge  our  blood  on  them 
that  dwell  on  the  earth?" 

The  advocates  for  soul-sleeping,  make  use  of  several  passages 
of  Scripture  to  support  their  opinion;  particularly  such  as  speak 
of  persons  sleeping  when  they  die,  of  which  there  are  many 
instances,  as  2  Sam.  vii.  12.  1  Kings  i.  21.  Job  vii.  21.  Dan. 
xii.  2.  1  Cor.  xv.  18.  1  Thess.  iv.  14.  John  xi.  11,  12.  1  Cor. 
XV.  51.  This  is  a  way  of  speaking  which  was  much  used  in 
the  eastern  countries,  and  is  expressive  of  the  death  of  the  body 
and  its  lying  in  the  grave,  because  sleep  is  the  image  of  death; 
so  to  sleep  with  the  fathers,  is  to  die  as  they  did,  and  be  buried 
where  they  were;  and  to  sleep  in  the  dust,  or  in  the  dust  of  the 
earth,  or  in  the  grave,  is  to  die,  be  buried,  and  lie  there,  which 
can  be  understood  of  the  body  only,  and  not  the  soul.  When 
we  read  of  any  who  fell  asleep  in  Christ,  or  that  sleep  in  Jesus, 
the  meaning  is,  that  they  died  in  the  Lord.  When  Christ  said, 
"  Our  friend  Lazarus  sleepeth,"  he  meant  that  he  was  dead; 
and  when  the  apostle  Paul  says,  "  We  shall  not  all  sleep,"  he 
designs  nothing  else  than  that  we  shall  not  all  die,  for  those  who 
are  alive  at  Christ's  coming,  will  be  changed.  If  this  mode  of 
expression,  and  the  scriptural  instances  of  it,  prove  any  thing  in 
this  controversy,  they  prove  too  much ;  for  if  they  prove  that  the 
soul  sleeps  with  the  body,  they  prove  that  the  soul  dies  with  it, 
since  by  sleep  is  meant  no  other  than  death. 

Again,  they  urge  all  those  scriptures  in  favour  of  their  notion, 
as  Mat.  xiii.  40,  41,49,  50,  and  xxv.  46.  Luke  xiv.  14.  2  Tim. 
iv.  8,  which  represent  the  happiness  of  the  saints,  and  the  misery 
of  the  wicked,  as  not  taking  place  until  the  last  day,  the  end  of 
the  world,  the  resurrection  of  the  just,  and  the  day  of  judgment, 
when  the  wicked  shall  go  into  everlasting  punishment,  and  the 
righteous  unto  life  eternal ;  and  therefore,  during  that  time,  their 
souls  must  be  asleep.  To  which  it  may  be  replied,  that  there  is 
a  twofold  state  of  the  righteous  and  the  wicked,  after  death,  re- 


398  OF   THE   RESURHECTION. 

specting  their  happiness  and  misery;  the  one  is  inchoate,  or  but 
begun;  the  other  is  full,  consummate  and  perfect.  Now,  it  is 
of  the  latter  that  these  scriptures  speak,  but  not  of  the  former; 
and  it  is  allowed  that  the  righteous  will  not  be  in  the  full  posses- 
sion of  glory  until  the  last  day,  when  their  bodies  will  be  raised 
and  united  to  their  souls,  and  both  together  enter  into  the  full 
joy  of  their  Lord ;  nor  will  the  wicked  receive  the  full  measure 
of  their  punishment  until  the  judgment  is  over,  when  both  soul 
and  body  shall  be  cast  into  hell.  But  then  immediately  upon 
death  they  both  enter  on  a  state  of  happiness  or  misery;  the 
righteous,  as  soon  as  they  are  absent  from  the  body,  are  present 
with  the  Lord;  and  the  wicked  are  no  sooner  dead,  but  in  hell 
they  lift  up  their  eyes. 

Again,  they  endeavour  to  improve  all  those  scriptures  to 
their  advantage,  as  Psal.  xxx.  9,  and  Ixxxviii.  10 — 12,  and  cxv. 
17,  18;  Isa.  xxxviii.  18,  which  describe  men,  after  death,  as 
incapable  of  praising  God;  such  as  these,  "What  profit  is  there 
in  my  blood,  when  I  go  down  to  the  pit  ?  Shall  the  dust  praise 
thee  ?  Shall  it  declare  thy  truth  ?  Wilt  thou  show  wonders  to 
the  dead?  Shall  the  dead  arise  and  praise  thee?  Selah.  Shall 
thy  loving  kindness  be  declared  in  the  grave?  or  thy  faithful- 
ness in  destruction  ?  Shall  thy  wonders  be  known  in  the  dark? 
and  thy  righteousness  in  the  land  of  forgetfulness?  The  dead 
praise  not  the  Lord,  neither  any  that  go  down  into  silence ;  for 
the  grave  cannot  praise  thee,  death  cannot  celebrate  thee.  They 
that  go  down  into  the  pit  cannot  hope  for  thy  truth."  From 
which  it  is  inferred,  that  if  the  souls  of  the  saints,  after  death, 
are  not  employed  in  praising  God,  they  must  be  asleep,  or  be 
destitute  of  sense  and  operation ;  for  what  work  else  can  they 
be  employed  in  ?  To  this  it  may  be  answered,  that  though  the 
saints,  whilst  their  bodies  are  in  their  graves,  and  before  the 
resurrection,  do  not,  and  cannot  praise  God  in  and  with  their 
bodies,  of  which  only  these  scriptures  can  be  supposed  to  speak : 
since  nothing  but  the  body  goes  down  into  the  pit,  or  is  laid  in 
the  grave,  yet  their  souls  may  and  do  praise  God,  in  like  man- 
ner as  the  angels  do;  with  whom,  in  the  book  of  the  Revelation, 
they  are  sometimes  joined  and  represented  as  with  them,  "  glo- 
rifying God,  praising  his  name,  singing  hallelujahs,  and  ascribing 
salvation  to  him  that  sits  upon  the  throne,  and  to  the  Lamb,  for 
ever  and  ever,"  Rev.  v.  11 — 13,  and  vii.  9 — 12.  Likewise, 
though  the  saints,  after  death,  do  not  praise  God  before  men, 
and  in  the  midst  of  his  church  militant,  as  they  did  when  in  the 
land  of  the  living,  to  which  these  passages  of  Scripture  refer; 
yet  they  may,  and  do  praise  him  before  the  angels,  and  in  the 
midst  of  the  church  triumphant;  so  that,  from  hence,  there  is 
no  reason  to  conclude  that  the  souls  of  believers,  after  death,  till 
the  resurrection,  are  in  a  state  of  inactivity,  or  sleep  with  their 


OF   THE   RESURRECTION.  399 

bodies.  Therefore,  seeing  the  soul  sleeps  not,  it  is  not  what 
will  be  awakened  at  the  resurrection,  or  be  the  subject  of  it.  I 
go  on, 

To  prove  that  it  is  the  body,  which  dies,  that  shall  be  raised. 
This  is  not  annihilated,  or  reduced  to  nothing  by  death ;  it  is 
not  a  new,  airy,  ethereal  or  celestial  body,  which  shall  be  united 
to  the  soul  at  the  resurrection,  but  it  will  be  the  same  numerical 
body,  which  dies,  that  shall  be  raised  again ;  all  which  I  hope 
to  make  appear,  in  the  following  part  of  my  discourse. 

\st,  The  body  is  not  annihilated,  or  reduced  to  nothing  by 
death.  This  is  asserted  by  Socinus  and  his  followers,  but  is 
contrary  both  to  reason  and  Scripture.  The  body  is  not  made 
out  of  nothing,  nor  will  it  be  reduced  to  nothing;  it  consists 
of  the  four  elements,  and  will  be  resolved  into  the  same ;  and 
though  it  may,  after  death,  pass  under  many  changes  and  alter- 
ations, yet  the  matter  and  substance  will  always  remain  in 
some  form,  and  in  some  place  or  another.  Death  is  a  separa- 
tion, or  a  disunion  of  soul  and  body,  but  not  an  annihilation  of 
either;  by  death  the  whole  compound  is  dissolved,  but  neither 
part  of  it  is  reduced  to  nothing;  the  dust,  or  the  body,  which 
is  of  the  dust,  returns  to  the  earth,  as  it  was,  and  the  soul  or 
spirit  to  God,  that  gave  it.  Death  is  sometimes  expressed 
by  retitrning  to  the  dust;  but  to  return  to  the  dust,  and  be 
reduced  to  nothing,  are  two  different  things,  unless  it  can  be 
thought  that  dust  is  nothing.  It  is  sometimes  signified  by 
seeing  corruption ;  but  corruption  is  one  thing,  and  annihila- 
tion another;  corruption  supposes  the  thing  in  being,  which  is 
corrupted,  annihilation  takes  away  the  being  of  it;  notwith- 
standing corruption,  the  matter  and  substance  may  remain, 
though  the  form  and  quality  may  be  altered,  but  annihilation 
leaves  nothing.  Death  is  sometimes  figuratively  expressed  by 
sowing  seed  in  the  earth  and  its  rotting  and  corrupting  there, 
by  pulling  down  a  house,  and  putting  off  a  tabernacle.  Now, 
though  the  seed  sown  in  the  earth  dies,  corrupts,  and  rots,  yet 
it  is  not  reduced  to  nothing;  it  neither  loses  its  being,  nor  its 
nature,  but  in  due  time  being  quickened,  buds  and  puts  forth 
its  seminal  virtue ;  a  house  may  be  pulled  down,  and  a  taber- 
nacle unpinned,  and  the  several  parts  be  separated  one  from 
another,  and  yet  the  matter  and  substance  of  them  all  remain 
and  continue.  If  the  body  is  annihilated  by  death,  Christ  will 
lose  that  which  is  a  part  of  his  purchase,  and  what  is  united 
to  him,  and  the  Spirit  his  dwelling  place;  for  Christ  has  bought 
the  bodies  of  his  people,  as  well  as  their  souls,  and  which,  with 
their  souls,  are  the  members  of  him,  and  in  which  the  Spirit  of 
God  dwells,  as  in  his  temple.  Besides,  if  the  body  was  reduced 
to  nothing  by  death,  the  resurrection  of  the  body  would  not 
be  properly  a  resurrection,  but  a  creation  of  a  new  body;  and, 
indeed,  this  notion  of  annihilation  is  designed  to  make  way  for 


400  OF   THE    RESURRECTION. 

the  introduction  of  that,  the  truth  of  which  I  shall  presently 
examine. 

As  for  those  scriptures  which  speak  of  the  dead  as  though 
they  were  not;  as  when  Rachel  is  represented  weeping  for 
her  children,  and  refusing  to  be  comforted,  "because  they  were 
not,"  Jer.  xxxi.  15,  the  meaning  is  not,  that  they  no  where  ex- 
isted, had  no  being,  or  were  reduced  to  nothing,  but  they  were 
not  in  the  land  of  the  living,  existing  among  men,  and  conver- 
sing with  them;  seeing  it  is  said  of  Enoch,  that  "he  was  not, 
for  God  took  him,"  Gen.  v.  24;  though  he  was  not  on  earth, 
yet  he  was  in  heaven  with  God;  his  body  was  not  annihilated, 
but  he  was  taken  up,  soul  and  body,  to  heaven.  When  the 
apostle  says:  "Meats  for  the  belly, and  the  belly  for  meats;  but 
God  shall  destroy  both  it  and  them,"  1  Cor,  vi.  13;  he  does  not 
design  a  destruction  of  the  substance  of  the  body,  or  of  any  part 
of  it,  but  respects  the  use  of  it,  which  shall  be  no  more  employ- 
ed in  receiving  meats,  to  supply  the  natural  wants  of  the  body, 
though  it  will  be  necessary  in  the  resurrection,  as  a  constituent 
part  of  the  body,  and  for  the  beauty  of  it. 

2(//y,  It  is  not  a  new  aerial,  celestial  body,  or  a  spiritual 
body,  as  to  nature  and  substance,  which  shall  be  united  to  the 
soul  at  the  resurrection.  It  is  allowed  that  the  body  will  be 
different  from  what  it  now  is,  as  to  the  qualities  of  it,  but  not  as 
to  its  substance,  when  the  apostle  compares  the  body  to  seed 
sown  in  the  earth,  1  Cor,  xv.  37,  38,  which  is  not  quickened, 
except  it  die;  and  says  of  it,  "And  that  which  thou  so  west, 
thou  sowest  not  that  body  that  shall  be,  but  bare  grain,  it  may 
chance  of  wheat,  or  of  some  other  grain:  but  God  giveth  it  a 
body,  as  it  hath  pleased  him,  and  to  every  seed  his  own  body." 
He  does  not  design  a  substantial  difference  between  the  body, 
which  is  laid  in  the  grave,  and  that  which  is  raised,  but  only  a 
difference  of  qualities,  as  is  between  the  seed,  which  is  sown 
in  the  earth,  and  the  plant,  which  springs  from  it ;  which  two 
differ  not  in  their  specific  nature,  but  in  some  circumstances  and 
accidents.  That  this  is  the  apostle's  meaning,  is  evident,  when 
he  says:  "It  is  sown  in  corruption,  it  is  raised  in  incorruption; 
it  is  sown  in  dishonour,  it  is  raised  in  glory;  it  is  sown  in 
weakness,  it  is  raised  in  power,  1  Cor.  xv.  42,  43.  The  body 
of  Christ  is  compared  to  a  grain  of  wheat,  "  which  is  cast  into 
the  earth,  and  dies,  and  then  springs  up,  and  brings  forth  fruit," 
John  xii.  24,  and  yet  it  was  not  a  spiritual  body,  as  to  sub- 
stance, but  a  body  consisting  of  flesh  and  bones,  even  the  same 
he  had  before  his  death,  and  such  will  the  bodies  of  the  saints 
be  after  the  resurrection.  The  apostle,  indeed,  says,  that  the 
body,  which  is  "  sown  a  natural  body,"  will  be  "  raised  a  spi- 
ritual one,"  1  Cor.  xv,  44,  but  by  a  spiritual  body  he  does  not 
mean  that  the  body  will  be  changed  into  a  spirit  and  lose  its 
former  nature  and  substance,  but  that  it  will  now  be  subject  and 


OF   THE    RESURRECTION  401 

subservient  to  the  spirit  or  sonl:  it  will  be  employed  in  spi- 
ritual service,  and  be  delighted  wilh  spiritual  objects,  and  will 
not  be  supported  in  a  natural  way,  and  by  natural  helps  and 
means;  such  as  meat,  drink,  clothes,  sleep,  and  the  like,  but  will 
live  in  a  manner  as  angels  do.  Hence  the  children  of  the  resur- 
rection are  said  to  be  like  unto  the  angels. — Again,  when  the 
apostle  says,  "That  flesh  and  blood  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom 
of  God;  neither  doth  corruption  inherit  incorruption,"  1  Cor. 
XV.  50,  he  does  not  design  the  human  body,  simply  considered, 
but  as  attended  with  sin  and  corruption,  or  with  frailty  and 
mortality;  for  flesh  and  blood,  neither  as  sinful  nor  as  mortal, 
shall  enjoy  the  heavenly  state;  therefore,  in  order  to  that,  "this 
corruptible  must  put  on  incorruption,  and  this  mortal  must  put 
on  immortahty."  If  it  should  be  a  new  aerial,  celestial,  or  spi- 
ritual body,  different  in  substance  from  what  the  body  now  is, 
which  shall  be  united  to  the  soul,  it  would  not  be  a  resurrec- 
tion, but  a  creation;  besides  it  is  not  consistent  with  the  justice 
of  God,  that  new  bodies  should  be  created,  and  without  hav- 
ing ever  sinned,  as  those  must  be  supposed  to  be,  which  are 
of  God's  immediate  creation,  be  united  to  the  souls  of  the 
wicked,  and  be  everlastingly  punished  with  them.  Nor  can 
they  be  said  to  be  truly  human  bodies,  which  are  without  flesh, 
blood,  and  bones;  nor  can  they  be  said  to  be  properly  men, 
who  are  incorporeal;  and,  indeed,  the  same  persons  that  have 
sinned,  cannot  be  said  to  be  punished,  nor  the  same  persons, 
who  are  redeemed,  to  be  glorified,  unless  the  same  body  be 
raised;  which  I  shall, 

odly.  Endeavour  to  prove.  Job  fully  expresses  his  faith  in 
this  doctrine,  when  he  expresses,  "  Though  after  my  skin  worms 
destroy  this  body,  yet  in  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God;  whom  I 
shall  see  for  myself,  and  mine  eyes  shall  behold,  and  not  an- 
other, though  my  reins  be  consumed  within  me,"  Job  xix.  26, 
27.  He  believed  that  the  same  body,  which  should  be  destroyed 
by  worms,  should  be  raised  again,  in  which  he  should  see  God, 
and  behold  him  with  the  self-same  eyes  of  his  body  he  then  had, 
and  not  with  the  eyes  of  another,  or  of  a  stranger;  and  this  he 
firmly  believed,  though  his  body  would  be  destroyed  by  worms, 
and  his  reins  be  consumed  within  him.  The  apostle  Paul  strongly 
asserts  this  truth,  1  Cor.  xv.  53,  54,  when  he  says,  "  This  mor- 
tal, [this,  and  not  another,  pointing  to  his  own  mortal  body,] 
must  put  on  immortality,  and  this  corruptible  must  put  on  in- 
corruption: so  when  this  corruption  shall  have  put  on  incorrup- 
tion, and  this  mortal  shall  have  put  on  immortality,  then  shall 
be  brought  to  pass  the  saying  which  is  written,  death  is  swal- 
lowed up  in  victory;"  which  would  not  be  true,  if  another,  and 
not  the  same  body  was  raised  from  the  dead.  Again,  in  an- 
other place,  he  says,  Phil.  iii.  21,  that  Christ  will  "change  our 
vile  body,  that  it  may  be  fashioned  like  unto  his  glorious  body;" 

51 


402  OF   THE    RESURRECTION. 

but  if  the  same  body  is  not  raised,  it  will  not  be  our  vile  body, 
but  another,  which  will  be  changed,  and  fashioned  like  to 
Christ's  body.  For  the  further  confirmation  of  this  truth,  let  the 
following  things  be  observed: 

1.  The  signification  of  the  word  re.sr«rrec^2072.  This  properly 
signifies  a  raising  up  of  that  which  is  fallen;  the  same  body, 
which  fell  by  death,  is  raised  by  the  power  of  God;  this  is  the 
proper  sense  of  the  word,  and  the  just  meaning  of  it  in  this  arti- 
cle, nor  can  it  have  any  other;  for  if  the  same  body  is  not  raised, 
which  fell,  but  another  is  given,  it  will  not  be  a  resurrection,  but 
a  creation. 

2.  The  resurrection  of  the  body  is  expressed  by  such  JigurU' 
tive  and  metaphorical  phrases,  which  manifestly  show  that  it 
will  be  the  same  body  which  will  be  raised  that  dies ;  as  when 
it  is  expressed  by  the  quickenhig  of  seed,  which  is  sown  in  the 
earth,  and  by  an  awaking  out  of  sleep.  Now,  as  it  is  the  same 
seed  that  is  sown  in  the  earth,  and  dies,  that  springs  up,  and 
shows  itself  in  stalk,  blade,  and  ear:  the  same,  I  say,  as  to  the 
nature  and  substance ;  for  wheat  produces  wheat,  and  not  any 
other  grain,  though  with  some  additional  beauty,  verdure,  and 
greenness;  it  loses  nothing  that  it  had, though  it  grows  up  with 
that  it  had  not  before:  so  the  same  body  that  dies,  is  quickened 
and  raised,  though  with  additional  glories  and  excellencies;  the 
very  same  it  that  is  sown  in  corruption,  is  raised  i)i  incorrup- 
tion:  and  the  very  same  it  that  is  soivn  in  dishoiiour,  is  raised 
in  glory;  the  very  same  it  that  is  sown  in  weakness,  is  raised 
in  poiver ;  and  the  very  same  it  that  is  sown  a  natural  body, 
is  raised  a  spiritiial  body;  or  else  there  is  no  meaning  in  the 
apostle's  words.  Likewise,  as  death  is  compared  to  a  sleep,  so 
the  resurrection  is  expressed  by  an  awaking  out  of  it.  Now,  as 
it  is  the  same  body  that  sleeps  that  is  awaked  out  of  it,  so  it  is 
the  same  body  that  falls  asleep  by  death,  that  will  be  awaked  in 
the  resurrection. 

3.  The /;/ace5  from  whence  the  dead  will  be  raised,  and  which 
will  be  summoned  to  deliver  them  up,  and  out  of  which  they 
will  come,  deserve  our  notice.  Our  Lord  says,  John  v.  28,  29, 
"  All  that  are  in  their  graves  shall  hear  his  voice,  and  shall  come 
forth."  Every  one  that  reads  those  words,  will  easily  conceive 
that  the  meaning  of  our  Lord  is,  that  the  same  bodies  which 
are  in  the  graves  shall  come  forth  out  of  them.  If  other  bodies 
should  be  produced  by  God  from  other  matter,  and  united  to 
souls,  they  cannot,  with  truth,  be  said  to  come  forth  from  the 
graves;  none  but  the  same  bodies,  which  are  there  laid,  can  be 
supposed  to  come  forth  from  thence  at  the  resurrection.  It  is 
a  trifling  objection  to  this  doctrine,  made  by  a  late  writer,*  that 
the  word  bodies  is  not  used  in  the  text.     What  of  men  is  laid 

*  Locke's  Essay  on  Human  Understanding. 


OF   THE   RESURRECTION.  403 

in  the  graves  bnt  their  bodies?  And  what  can  be  expected  to 
come  forth  from  thence  but  their  bodies?  And  what  but  the 
same  bodies?  It  is  a  very  silly  question  that  is  put  by  the  same 
writer,*  when  he  asks,  "  Would  a  well-meaning  searcher  of  the 
Scriptures  be  apt  to  think,  that  if  the  thing  here  intended  by 
our  Saviour,  were  to  teach  and  propose  it  as  an  article  of  faitli, 
necessary  to  be  believed  by  every  one,  that  the  very  same  bodies 
of  the  dead  should  be  raised;  would  not,  I  say,  any  one  be  apt 
to  think,  that  if  our  Saviour  meant  so,  the  words  should  rather 
have  been  ftavta  ta  ai^^a-fa  a  £v  toi;  .uvj/juf toij,  i.  e.  all  the  bodies 
that  are  in  the  graves,  rather  than  all  who  are  in  the  graves; 
which  must  denote  persons,  and  not  precisely  bodies?"  To 
which  I  reply,  that  supposing  it  our  Lord's  design,  as  I  verily 
believe  it  was,  to  express  this  article  of  our  faith,  that  the  same 
bodies  of  the  dead  shall  be  raised,  there  was  no  need  that  the 
word  bodies  should  be  expressed;  it  was  enough  to  say,  that 
all  that  are  in  their  graves  shall  come  forth;  and  every  well 
meaning  searcher  of  the  Scriptures  will  be  easily  induced  to 
think,  that  our  Lord  designs  that  the  same  bodies  of  men  that 
are  laid  in  the  graves  shall  come  forth;  nor  is  any  thing  more 
usual  in  common  speech,  than  to  denominate  men  sometimes 
from,  one  parr,  and  sometimes  from  another;  as  when  we  say, 
they  are  mortal,  or  wise,  or  foolish.  Again,  we  are  told,  in  the 
sacred  writings,  that  "  the  sea  gave  up  the  dead  M'-hich  were  in 
it,  and  death  and  hell  delivered  up  the  dead  which  were  in 
them."  Now,  if  the  grave  and  sea,  at  the  awful  summons, 
shall  deliver  up  the  dead  which  are  in  them,  they  must  deliver 
the  very  same  which  are  laid  in  them ;  for  what  else  can  such 
expressions  design? 

4.  The  subject  of  the  resurrection  is  the  body,  and  that  such 
as  it  is  in  this  life,  vile  and  mortal.  Christ  will  '"'change  our 
vile  body,  and  fashion  it  like  unto  his  glorious  body;"  and  "he 
that  raised  up  Christ  his  Son  from  the  dead,  shall  quicken  your 
mortal  bodies  by  his  Spirit,  that  dwelleth  in  you,"  These 
bodies  must  be  the  same  we  carry  about  with  us  now;  for 
what  else  can  be  called  vile  and  mortal?  Surely  not  bodies 
a-new  created,  which  are  said  to  be  spiritual  and  celestial,  and 
which  never  sinned,  and  so  not  subject  to  mortality.  This  also 
destroys  an  observation  of  a  writer  of  great  note,t  that  the  word 
aiofxata,  bodies,  is  not  used  through  the  New  Testament,  when 
mention  is  made  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  His  words  are 
these:  "  He  who  reads  with  attention  this  discourse  of  St.  Paul's, 
(meaning  1  Cor.  xv.)  where  he  discourses  of  the  resurrection, 
v/ill  see,  that  he  plainly  distinguishes  between  the  dead  that 
shall  be  raised,  and  the  bodies  of  the  dead;  for  it  is,  vtx^oi, 
rtavtis,  01,  are  the  nominative  cases  to  iyn^ovtav,  ^uoTtoir^^rjoovtat, 

*  Locke's  Essay  on  Human  Understanding.  t  Ibid. 


404  OF    THE    RESURRECTION. 

iyi^^rjsovfai.,  all  aloiig,  and  not  ffw^afa,  bodies:  which  one  may, 
with  reason,  think,  would  some  where  or  other  be  expressed, 
if  all  this  had  been  to  propose  it  as  an  article  of  faith,  that  the 
very  same  bodies  shall  be  raised.  The  same  manner  of  speak- 
ing the  Spirit  of  God  observes,  all  through  the  New  Testament, 
where  it  is  said,  raise  the  dead,  quicken  or  make  alive  the 
dead,  the  resurrection  of  the  deadP  Now,  not  to  take  notice 
of  the  dead  bodies  of  the  saints,  who  were  raised  after  the 
resurrection  of  Christ,  of  whom  it  is  said,  Mat,  xxvii.  52,  "And 
many  bodies  of  the  saints  which  slept  arose;"  the  observation 
will  appear  to  be  wrong,  if  we  consider  the  passages  now  men- 
tioned, where  Christ  is  said  "to  change  our  vile  body,"  Phil, 
iii.  21.  Rom.  viii.  11,  or  "the  body  of  our  humility,"  which  be- 
longs to,  and  is  expressive  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead;  and 
where  God  is  said  to  "  quicken  your  mortal  bodies:"  besides,  in 
the  discourse  of  the  apostle  Paul,  concerning  the  resurrection, 
iu  1  Cor.  XV.,  a  question  is  asked,  "How  are  the  dead  raised? 
and  with  what  body  do  they  come?"  And  an  answer  is  given, 
"  It  is  sown  a  natural  body,  and  it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body." 
Besides,  how  can  the  apostle  plainly  distinguish,  as  this  author 
says  he  does  in  this  discourse,  between  the  dead  that  shall  be 
raised,  and  the  bodies  of  the  dead,  if  the  bodies  of  the  dead  all 
along  are  not  mentioned? 

5.  The  instances  of  resurrections  that  are  already  past,  prove 
that  it  will  be  the  same  body  which  will  be  raised  at  the  gen- 
eral resurrection.  The  saints  which  arose  at  the  resurrection 
of  Christ,  rose  with  the  same  bodies  which  were  laid  in  the 
graves;  for  it  is  said,  that  "the  graves  were  opened,  and  many 
bodies  of  the  saints  which  slept  arose."  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
arose  from  the  dead  with  the  same  body  which  hung  upon  the 
cross,  and  was  laid  in  the  grave,  as  is  evident,  from  the  print  of 
the  nails  in  his  hands  and  feet;  nor  was  it  an  aerial  or  spiritual 
body,  as  to  its  substance,  for  it  consisted  of  flesh  and  bones, 
which  a  spirit  does  not,  and  might  be  felt  and  handled.  Now, 
Christ's  resurrection  was  an  exemplar  of  the  saints;  their  bodies 
shall  be  changed  and  fashioned  like  unto  his  glorious  body. 
Enoch  and  EUjah  were  translated  into  heaven  in  the  very  same 
bodies  they  had  when  here  on  earth ;  and  those  which  will  be 
alive  at  Christ's  second  coming,  will  be  changed,  and  caught 
up,  in  the  very  same  bodies  in  which  they  will  be  found,  to 
meet  the  Lord  in  the  air,  and  so  shall  be  for  ever  v/ith  him. 
Now,  it  is  not  reasonable  to  suppose,  that  our  Lord,  who 
partook  of  the  same  flesh  and  blood  with  the  children  of  God, 
should  be  raised  and  glorified  in  the  same  body,  and  not  they 
in  their  same  bodies,  for  whose  sake  he  assumed  his;  or  that 
some  of  the  saints  should  have  the  same  bodies  they  had  whilst 
here,  and  others  not. 

6.  If  the  same  body  is  not  raised,  how  will  the  end  of  the 


OF   THE    RESURRECTION.  405 

resurrection  be  answered,  which  is  the  glorifying  of  God's  grace, 
in  the  salvation  of  his  people,  and  of  his  justice  in  the  dam- 
nation of  the  wicked?  Hence  the  one  is  said  to  "come  forth 
to  the  resurrection  of  life,"  and  "the  other  to  the  resurrec- 
tion of  damnation."  How  shall  every  one  "receive  the  things 
done  in  his  body,"  according  to  that  he  hath  done,  "  whe- 
ther it  be  good  or  bad,"  if  the  same  bodies  are  not  raised,  who 
have  done  good  or  evil?  Where  would  be  the  justice  of  God, 
if  other  bodies,  and  not  those  which  Christ  has  purchased  with 
his  blood,  the  Spirit  has  sanctified  by  his  grace,  and  which 
have  suffered  for  the  name  of  Christ,  should  be  glorified  ?  as 
also  if  other  bodies,  and  not  those  which  have  sinned  against 
God,  blasphemed  the  name  of  Christ,  and  have  persecuted  his 
saints,  should  suffer  eternal  vengeance,  and  be  punished  with 
everlasting  destruction  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  the 
glory  of  his  power?  Where  would  be  the  veracity  of  God, 
either  in  his  promises  or  threatenings,  if  the  good  things  he  has 
promised,  are  not  bestowed  upon  the  same  persons  to  whom 
he  has  promised  them,  and  if  the  punishment  he  has  threaten- 
ed, is  not  inflicted  on  the  same  persons  to  whom  he  has  threat- 
ened it  ?  for  how  they  can  be  the  same  persons,  without  having 
the  same  bodies,  I  do  not  understand.  Besides,  what  a  disap- 
pointment will  it  be  to  the  saints,  who  are  waiting  for  the 
adoption,  to  wit,  the  redemption  of  their  body,  from  all  weak- 
ness and  corruption,  if  not  that,  but  another  body,  shall  be 
given  them,  and  be  united  to  their  souls,  and  be  glorified  with 
them ! 

In  fine,  if  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  which 
the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  hold  forth,  does 
not  intend  the  resurrection  of  the  same  body;  it  is  no  other,  nor 
better,  than  a  transmigration  of  souls  into  other  bodies,  which 
was  the  old  Pythagorean  notion. 

It  is  a  low  and  mean  quibble,  that  a  man  has  not  the  same 
body  at  one  time  as  at  another,  because  he  may  be  taller  or 
bigger,  fatter  or  leaner  at  one  time  than  at  another.  It  is  true, 
that  the  body  has  not  always  the  same  fleeting  particles,  which 
are  continually  changing  and  altering,  but  it  has  always  the 
same  constituent  parts;  so  that  a  man  may  be  always  said  to 
have  the  same  body,  and  to  be  the  same  man;  it  is  the  same 
body  that  is  born  that  dies,  and  the  same  that  dies  that  shall 
rise  again.  The  several  alterations  and  changes  it  undergoes, 
with  respect  to  tallness  or  largeness,  fatness  or  leanness,  do 
not  destroy  the  identity  of  the  body.  If  this  quibble  would 
hold  good  in  theological  controversies,  and  in  philosophical 
disputes,  it  might  also  in  political  affairs;  and  so  one  that  owes 
another  a  sum  of  money,  and  has  given  his  note  or  bond  for  it, 
after  a  term  of  time,  may  deny  that  he  owes  the  other  any 
thing,  or  that  he  ever  borrowed  any  thing  of  him,  and  that  it 


406  OF    THE    RESURRECTION. 

is  not  his  hand  writing,  since  he  has  not  the  same  body  he  had 
before.  A  murderer,  taken  up  some  years  after  the  murder  is 
committed,  may  plead  he  is  not  the  same  man,  and  that  it  was 
not  done  with  tlie  same  hands  he  has  now,  and  therefore,  in 
justice  he  ought  not  to  suffer.  And  the  same  may  be  observed  in 
ten  thousand  other  instances,  whereby  confusion  must  be  intro- 
duced into  commonwealths,  and  justice  and  order  subverted  in 
governments.  This  observation  may  be  sufficient  to  stop  the 
mouths  of  such  impertinent  cavillers,  who  are  ready  to  ask  such 
questions  as  these;  whether  the  body,  at  the  resurrection,  will 
have  all  the  individual  particles  of  matter  it  ever  had?  or  whe- 
ther it  will  be  raised,  as  when  it  was  at  such  an  age,  or  in  such 
a  plight?  or  as  it  was  emaciated  by  distempers,  or  as  laid  in  the 
grave?  It  is  enough  that  it  will  have  the  constituent  parts  it 
ever  had,  which  is  sufficient  to  support  the  identity  of  it.  I 
shall  now  proceed, 

IV.  To  consider  the  particular  concern  which  God  the 
Father,  Son  and  Spirit  have  in  this  stupendous  work.  It  is  a 
work  that  a  creature  is  unequal  to,  and  incapable  of.  It  is 
always  ascribed  to  God;  it  is  God  that  raises  and  quickens  the 
dead.  If  it  was  ever  referred  to  a  creature,  it  might  well  be 
judged  incredible;  but  it  need  not  be  thought  incredible  that 
God  should  raise  the  dead.  Now,  as  all  God's  works,  ad  extra, 
are  common  to  all  the  three  Persons,  and  this  being  such  an 
one,  they  are  all  three  concerned  in  it.     And, 

1.  God  the  Father  is  concerned  herein.  The  resurrection  of 
Christ  is  frequently  attributed  to  him,  and  so  is  the  resurrection 
of  the  saints,  and  they  are  sometimes  mentioned  together;  the  for- 
mer as  the  pledge  and  earnest  of  the  latter,  as  saith  the  apostle, 
1  Cor.  vi.  14,  "  And  God  hath  both  raised  up  the  Lord,  and  will 
also  raise  up  us  by  his  own  power;"  that  is,  God  the  Father 
has  raised  up  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  we  may  be  assured  that  he 
will  also  raise  up  us,  since  as  he  is  able  to  raise  the  one,  he  is 
able  to  raise  the  other,  and  that  by  his  own  absolute,  original, 
and  underived  power;  which  assurance  of  faith,  in  the  doctrine 
of  the  resurrection,  the  apostle  expresses  in  another  place,  in 
stronger  terms,  "  We  having  the  same  Spirit. of  faith,  according 
as  it  is  written,  I  believed,  and  therefore  have  I  spoken;  we 
also  believe,  and  therefore  speak,  knowing  that  he  which  raised 
up  the  Lord  Jesus,  shall  raise  up  us  also  by  Jesus,  and  shall 
present  us  with  you,"  2  Cor.  iv.  14,  where  also  the  resurrection 
of  the  saints  is  ascribed  to  God  the  Father,  who  is  manifestly 
distinguished  from  the  Lord  Jesus,  whom  he  raised  up,  and  by 
whom  he  will  raise  up  the  saints;  not  that  Christ  is  the  Father's 
instrument,  or  medium  of  operation,  by  which  he  will  raise  the 
dead;  for, 

2.  Christ,  as  God,  being  equal  with  the  Father,  is  a  co-efficient 
cause  of  the  resurrection;  "As  tlie  Father  raiseth  up  the  dead 


OF    THE    RESURRECTION.  407 

and  quickeneth  them,  even  so  the  Son  quickeneth  wliom  he 
will,"  John  V.  22.  He  is  "the  resurrection  and  the  hfe,"  i.  e. 
the  Author  of  the  resurrection  unto  hfe;  he  is  the  Prince  of  hfe, 
has  the  keys  of  hell  and  death  in  his  hands,  and  can  open  the 
grave  at  his  pleasure,  and  call  forth  the  dead;  at  whose  all- 
powerful  and  commanding  voice,  all  that  are  in  the  graves  shall 
come  forth;  which  will  be  a  further  proof  both  of  his  onniipo- 
tence  and  omniscience;  this  will  show  that  he  is  the  Almighty, 
since  he  can  "  change  our  vile  body,  that  it  may  be  fashioned 
like  unto  his  glorious  body,  according  to  the  working,  whereby 
he  is  able  even  to  subdue  all  things  to  himself;"  and  that  he 
knows  all  things,  and  is  that  living  Word,  before  whom  every 
creature  is  made  manifest,  and  all  things  are  naked  and  open; 
for  if  he  was  not  omniscient,  he  could  not  know  where  every 
particle  of  matter  is  lodged ;  and,  if  he  was  not  omnipotent,  he 
could  not  collect  them,  range  them  in  their  proper  places,  and 
unite  them  together.  That  he  is  equal  to  this  work,  we  may 
conclude  from  the  resurrection  of  his  own  body;  he  had  power 
to  lay  down  his  life,  and  take  it  up  again;  he  raised  up  the 
temple  of  his  body,  after  it  had  been  destroyed  three  days,  and 
so  was  "  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  with  power,  according 
to  the  Spirit  of  holiness,  by  the  resurrection  from  the  dead."  As 
he  is  the  Mediator,  he  is  the  meritorious  and  procuring  cause 
of  the  resurrection;  there  is  an  influential  virtue  in  his  resurrec- 
tion, not  only  on  the  justification  and  regeneration  of  his  peo- 
ple, but  also  upon  their  resurrection  from  the  dead.  He  is  the 
''■  first  fruits  of  them  that  slept ;"  the  pledge  and  earnest  of  the 
saints'  resurrection;  they  are,  in  a  sense,  risen  with  him,  and 
shall  certainly  be  raised  by  him,  in  virtue  of  their  union  to  him, 
as  their  risen  Lord.  As  man,  his  resurrection  is  the  pattern  and 
exemplar  of  the  saints;  their  bodies  shall  be  fashioned  like  to 
his ;  as  his  body  was  raised  incorruptible  and  immortal,  pow- 
erful and  glorious,  so  shall  theirs,  in  such  manner,  as  never  to 
die  more,  or  see  corruption,  or  be  attended  with  distempers  and 
death. 

3.  God  the  Holy  Ghost  has  a  joint  and  equal  concern  with 
the  Father  and  the  Son  in  this  amazing  work.  The  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ,  is  the  act  of  all  the  three  Persons :  the  Father 
glorified  his  Son  by  raising  him  from  the  dead  :  he  "raised  him 
from  the  dead,  and  gave  him  glory."  Christ  of  himself  took  up 
the  life,  which  he  had  laid  down;  and  though  he  was  "put  to 
death  in  the  flesh,"  yet  he  "  was  quickened  by  the  Spirit."  So  the 
resurrection  of  the  saints  from  the  dead,  will  be  the  act  of  all 
the  three  Persons,  not  only  of  the  Father  and  the  Son,  but  also 
of  the  Spirit;  for  "  if  the  Spirit  of  him  that  raised  up  Jesus  from 
the  dead,  dwell  in  you,  he  that  raised  up  Christ  from  the  dead, 
shall  also  quicken  your  mortal  bodies  by  his  Spirit  that  dwell- 
eth  in  you,"  Rom.  viii.  11.     The  bodies,  as  well  as  the  souls  of 


408  OF   THE    RESURRECTION. 

the  saints,  are  united  to  Christ,  by  virtue  of  which  union  the 
Spirit  of  Christ  dwells  in  them ;  not  in  their  souls  only,  but  in 
their  bodies  also  ;  "  What!  know  ye  not  that  your  body  is  the 
temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  is  in  you?"  1  Cor.  vi.  19.  Now, 
as  the  union  between  Christ  and  his  people  is  not  dissolved  by 
death,  so  neither  does  the  Spirit  of  God  forsake  the  dead  bodies 
of  the  saints,  or  neglect  to  take  care  of  them;  the  dust  of  the 
saints  is  under  his  peculiar  care  and  guardianship;  and,  at  the 
last  day,  the  Spirit  of  life  from  God,  shall  enter  into  them,  and 
they  shall  live  and  stand  upon  their  feet. — Thus  all  the  three 
divine  Persons,  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit,  will  be  concerned  in  the 
resurrection  of  the  just. 

The  means  by  which  God  will  do  this  great  work,  and  the 
time  when  he  will  do  it,  the  Scriptures  are  not  altogether  silent 
about.  As  to  the  means,  we  are  told,  that  "  all  that  are  in  the 
graves  shall  hear  his  (i.  e.  Christ's)  voice,  and  shall  come 
forth,"  John  V.  28,29,  "that  the  Lord  himself  shall  descend 
from  heaven  with  a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  an  archangel,  and 
with  the  trump  of  God,  and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise ;"  and 
that  the  "  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  dead  shall  be  raised 
incorruptible;"  but  whether  by  the  voice  of  Christ  and  the 
archangel,  the  shout,  and  the  trumpet  of  God,  we  are  to  un- 
derstand so  many  several  distinct  things,  or  one  and  the  same 
thing,  is  not  easy  to  determine.  The  voice  of  the  archangel, 
who  shall  descend  with  Christ,  may  be  called  the  voice  of 
Christ,  because  formed  at  his  command;  the  same  may  be  sig- 
nified by  the  trumpet  of  God,  which  shall  be  sounded,  and  that 
may  be  signified  by  the  shout  which  shall  be  made,  either  by 
the  archangel  alone,  or  by  all  the  angels  with  him,  and  this 
shout  no  other  than  some  violent  claps  of  thunder,  which  are 
the  voice  of  God;  like  those  which  were  heard  when  God 
descended  on  Mount  Sinai,  and  gave  the  law  from  thence, 
which,  perhaps,  were  formed  by  the  ministry  of  angels;  and 
this  the  apostle  Peter  may  design,  when  he  says:  "The  hea- 
vens shall  pass  away  with  a  great  noise,  and  the  elements  shall 
melt  with  fervent  heat,"  2  Pet.  iii.  10.  Or  by  the  voice  of  Christ, 
may  be  meant  an  audible  and  inarticulate  voice  of  his,  so  power- 
ful, as  to  reach  all  that  are  in  their  graves,  such  as  that  was 
which  was  heard  at  the  grave  of  Lazarus,  where  "  he  cried 
with  a  loud  voice,  Lazarus,  come  forth ;"  or  as  that  which 
Saul  heard  from  heaven,  saying  "  Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest 
thou  me?"  or  as  John  heard,  which  he  says,  "was  as  the 
voice  of  many  waters."  Or,  perhaps,  the  voice  of  Christ  may 
design  the  power  of  Christ,  which  shall  be  exerted  upon,  and 
shall  be  felt  and  perceived  by  all  that  are  in  their  graves,  when 
the  archangel  shall  sound  the  last  trumpet,  attended  with  the 
shout  of  all  the  rest  of  the  angelic  host. 

As  for  the  time,  when  the  dead  shall  be  raised,  it  cannot  be 


OF   THE    RESURRECTION.  409 

exactly  jfixecl,  nor  does  it  become  us  curiously  to  inquire  into 
it;  "  It  is  not  for  us  to  know  the  times  and  the  seasons,  which 
the  Father  hath  put  in  his  own  power,"  Acts  i,  7.  As  no  man 
knows  the  day  and  hour  of  judgment,  so  no  man  knows  the  day 
when  the  dead  will  be  raised.  In  general,  it  is  said,  that  "  it 
will  be  in  the  last  day,  and  at  the  coming  of  Christ,"  John  vi. 
39,40.  44.  54,  and  xi.  24;  1  Cor.  xv.  27,  at  which  time  the 
dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first;  that  is,  they  shall  rise  before  the 
wicked,  which  will  be  the  first  resurrection.  Not  that  the  mar- 
tyrs shall  rise  before  the  rest  of  the  righteous,  but  all  the  right- 
eous shall  rise  at  Christ's  coming;  but  whether  their  rising 
will  be  successive,  or  be  at  once,  in  a  moment,  is  not  very  ma- 
terial. The  change  that  will  be  made  on  the  living,  will  be  in 
a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye;  but  it  is  not  so  manifest, 
that  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  will  be  so  quick  and  sudden, 
but  rather  that  it  will  be  successive;  since  it  is  said,  "  Every 
man  in  his  own  order  shall  be  raised,"  1  Cor.  xv.  23,  which 
may  be  understood  either  of  order  of  time,  so  that  they  that  died 
first,  shall  be  first  raised;  or  of  dignity,  so  that  those  who  have 
been  the  most  eminent  for  gifts,  grace,  usefulness,  &c.  shall  be 
first  called  forth  out  of  their  graves,  which,  perhaps,  may  be  the 
differing  glory  that  will  be  upon  the  saints  at  the  resurrection, 
of  which  the  apostle  speaks,  saying,  "  There  is  one  glory  of  the 
sun,  and  another  glory  of  the  moon,  and  another  glory  of  the 
stars;  for  one  star  differeth  from  another  star  in  glory,  so  also 
is  the  resurrection  of  the  dead."  1  Cor.  xv.  41,  42. 

There  are  many  curious  and  needless  questions  which  are 
asked  concerning  the  resurrection,  and  the  state  of  those  who 
are  raised ;  as,  whether  abortions,  or  untimely  births,  shall  be 
raised?  at  what  age,  and  in  what  stature  the  dead  shall  rise? 
whether  with  their  present  deformities  or  not?  whether  there 
will  be  any  distinction  of  sexes?  and  whether  persons  shall 
know  one  another?  But  these  I  shall  not  give  myself  the  trou- 
ble to  answer,  but  pass  on  to  that  which  will  be  more  useful ; 
which  is, 

V.  And  lastly.  To  show  the  importance  and  use  of  this  doc- 
trine. 

\st,  I  shall  consider  the  importance  of  it.  It  is  a  fundamen- 
tal article  of  the  Christian  faith;  it  is  called  "the  foundation  of 
God,  which  stands  sure,"  2  Tim.  ii.  19,  though  some  deny  it, 
and  others  endeavour  to  sap  it,  but  none  can  destroy  it :  it  is 
reckoned  among  the  first  principles  of  the  doctrines  of  Christ, 
Heb.  vi.  1,2,  and  is  joined  with  eternal  judgment,  which  it  pre- 
cedes, and  in  order  to  which  it  is  absolutely  requisite.  The 
resurrection  of  Christ  stands  and  falls  with  it;  for,  "if  there  be 
no  resurrection  of  the  dead,  then  is  Christ  not  risen ;  and  if 
Christ  be  not  risen,  then  is  our  preaching  vain,  and  your  faith 
is  also  vain,"  1  Cor.  xv.  13, 14.     The  whole  gospel  is  connected 

52 


410  OF   THE    RESURRECTION. 

with  it;  if  there  is  no  truth  in  this,  there  is  none  in  that.  As 
the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  receives  confirmation  from  the 
doctrines  of  personal  election,  the  gift  of  the  persons  of  the  elect 
to  Christ,  the  covenant  of  grace,  redemption  by  Christ,  union 
with  him,  and  the  sanctification  of  the  Spirit,  so  these  can  have 
no  subsistence  without  supposing  that.  If  the  dead  rise  not, 
there  can  be  no  expectation  of  a  future  state ;  "  Then  they  also 
which  are  fallen  asleep  in  Christ  are  perished,"  1  Cor.  xv.  18. 
And  so  there  is  no  ditference  between  them  and  the  brutes,  as 
the  one  dieik,  so  dieth  the  other  ;  and  if  this  be  the  case,  "  if  in 
this  life  only  we  have  hope  in  Christ,  we  are  of  all  men  most 
miserable,"  verse  19.  Besides,  as  has  been  observed,  the  resur- 
rection is  absolutely  necessary  to  eternal  judgment :  without  it 
the  judgment  cannot  proceed ;  for,  how  should  "  every  one 
receive  the  things  done  in  his  body,  according  to  that  he  hath 
done,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad,"  if  his  body  is  not  raised  ?  To 
say  no  more,  practical  religion  much  depends  upon  the  truth  of 
this  doctrine;  the  denial  of  it  must  open  a  door  to  all  manner 
of  licentiousness.  The  opposers  of  this  doctrine  have  been 
observed,  in  all  ages,  to  be  very  bad  livers;  and,  indeed,  it  need 
not  be  wondered  at ;  it  is  a  natural  consequence,  "  If  the  dead 
rise  not,  let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die,"  1  Cor. 
XV.  32,  On  the  other  hand,  where  this  doctrine  is  firmly  believed, 
and  strictly  attended  to,  there  will  be  a  studious  concern  to 
glorify  God,  by  a  becoming  life  and  conversation.  This  may 
be  observed  in  the  experience  and  practice  of  the  apostle  Paul, 
which  he  delivers  in  these  words,  "And  have  hope  towards 
God,  which  they  themselves  also  allow,  that  there  shall  be 
a  resurrection  of  the  just  and  unjust;  and  herein  (says  he,) 
upon  this  account,  do  I  exercise  myself  to  have  a  conscience 
void  of  offence  toward  God  and  toward  men,"  Acts  xxiv. 
15,  16. 

2f//y,  I  shall  now  consider  the  use  of  this  doctrine;  whatever 
is  important,  and  of  moment,  must  be  useful.  This  doctrine  is 
of  use, 

1.  For  instruction.  It  serves  to  enlarge  our  views  of  the 
divine  perfections;  as  the  immutability  of  God  in  his  purposes; 
his  faithfulness  in  his  promises;  his  omniscience,  which  extends 
to  all  creatures,  and  every  thing  that  belongs  to  them;  and  his 
omnipotence,  which  nothing  can  withstand.  Those  who  deny 
the  resurrection,  must  not  only  be  ignorant  of  the  Scriptures 
but  of  the  power  of  God,  as  the  Sadducees  were.  This  doctrine 
teaches  us  to  think  highly  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  God  over  all, 
blessed  for  ever,  as  possessed  of  all  divine  perfections;  since  he 
is  the  resurrection  and  the  life,  the  first-fruits  of  them  that  slept; 
he  is  the  efficient  cause  by  whom,  and  the  meritorious  cause 
through  whom,  and  the  exemplar  according  to  whom  the  resur- 
rection of  the  saints  will  be.    Tiie  concern  which  the  Holy  Spirit 


OF   THE    RESURRECTION.  411 

has  in  our  resurrection,  may  serve  to  endear  him  to  us,  and 
teach  us  not  to  grieve  him,  by  whom  wc  are  "sealed  unto  the 
day  of  redemption,"  i.  e.  of  our  bodies  from  corruption  and 
death;  he  not  only  sanctifies  our  bodies,  and  dwells  in  them, 
but  has  the  care  of  our  dust,  and  will  quicken  it  at  the  last  day. 
What  an  instruction  is  this  doctrine  to  faith  and  trust  in  God, 
Father,  Son,  and  Spirit?  If  God  can  and  will  raise  the  dead, 
what  is  it  he  cannot  do?  Faith  should  not  stagger  at  any  thing 
which  God  has  promised  to  perform,  or  be  discouraged  at  any 
difficulties  in  its  way,  or  at  any  trials  and  alfiictions  it  meets 
with.  Tlie  consideration  of  this,  that  God  quickens  the  dead, 
Rom.  iv.  17 — 20,  quickened  Abraham's  faith,  so  that  he  "stag- 
gered not  at  the  promise  through  unbelief,"  though  there  were 
difficulties  attending  it  insuperable  to  nature.  And  when  the 
apostles  had  the  sentence  of  death  in  themselves,  they  were 
directed  not  to  trust  in  themselves,  "  but  in  God,  which  raiseth 
the  dead,  who,  (say  they,)  delivered  us  from  so  great  a  death, 
and  doth  deliver;  in  whom  we  trust  tliat  he  will  yet  deliver 
us,"  2  Cor.  i.  9,  10.  Moreover,  this  doctrine  may  teach  us,  that 
all  due  and  proper  care  ought  to  be  taken  of  our  bodies,  both 
whilst  living,  and  when  dead.  All  proper  care  ought  to  be 
taken  of  them  whilst  living;  though  they  are  not  to  be  pam- 
pered, they  are  not  to  be  starved:  they  are  to  be  fed  and  clothed, 
according  to  the  blessings  of  life,  which  God  bestows  upon  men, 
provided  the  bounds  of  moderation  and  decency  be  observed; 
for  to  transgress  these  by  luxury  and  intemperance,  is  not  to 
use  our  bodies  well,  but  to  abuse  them:  and  when  the  body  is 
dead,  care  ought  to  be  taken  that  it  be  decently  interred,  which 
may  be  confirmed  by  the  examples  of  Abraham,  Joseph  of 
Arimathea,  and  others. 

2.  This  doctrine  is  of  use  for  cotisolation.  The  day  of  the 
resurrection  will  be  a  day  of  consolation  to  the  saints.  Hence 
the  Syriac  version  reads  those  words  of  Martha,  "  I  know  that 
he  shall  rise  again,  in  the  resurrection  at  the  last  day,"  John 
xi.  24,  thus:  "I  know  that  he  shall  rise  again,  in  the  consola- 
tion at  the  last  day."  Then  will  be  the  consummation  of  the 
saints'  joy  and  comfort,  and  a  believing  view  of  it  now  must 
be  very  delightful  to  them;  as  they  are  waiting  for  the  adop- 
tion, to  wit,  the  redemption  of  the  body,  so  they  may  lift  up 
their  heads  with  joy,  because  this  their  redemption  draweth 
near.  The  consideration  of  this  doctrine  must  be  a  great  sup- 
port to  saints  under  trials  and  afiiictions,  under  diseases  and 
distempers  of  body,  in  the  views  of  death,  and  the  several 
changes  the  body  shall  undergo  after  death ;  I  say,  it  must  be  a 
very  comfortable  consideration,  that,  in  a  little  time,  all  these 
trials  will  be  ended;  there  will  be  no  more  diseases,  nor  death: 
and  though  the  body,  for  a  while,  shall  be  the  food  of  worms, 
and  return  to  its  original  dust,  yet  it  shall  be  raised  immortal 


412  OF   THE    RESURRECTION. 

and  incorruptible,  powerful  and  glorious:  "This  mortal  must 
put  on  immortality,  and  this  corruption  must  put  on  incorrup- 
tion;"  and  in  our  flesh  shall  we  see  God,  and  enjoy  the  com- 
pany of  angels  and  saints.  To  conclude:  this  doctrine  must  be 
of  great  use  to  support  persons  under  the  loss  of  near  relations; 
when  they  consider,  that  though  they  are  dead,  they  shall  rise 
again;  though  they  have  parted  with  them,  it  is  but  for  a  time; 
and  therefore  they  should  not  "  sorrow,  even  as  others,  which 
have  no  hope,"  1  Thess.  iv.  14,  17,  18,  "for  if  we  believe  that 
Jesus  died,  and  rose  again,  even  so  them  also  which  sleep  in 
Jesus,  will  God  bring  with  him;  wherefore  we  may  comfort 
one  another  with  these  words,  and  so  shall  we  be  ever  with 
the  Lord." 


A 

VINDICATION 

OF  THE 

KVANGELICAL  DOCTRINE  OF  MAN'S  SALVATION 

BT 

THE  FREE  GRACE  OF  GOD, 

FROM   THE 

CHARGE  OF  PROi\IOTING  LICENTIOUSNESS. 
By  MR.  ABRAHAM  TAYLOR, 

MINISTER  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 


Romans  v.  20,  21 ;  vi.  1,  2. — Where  sin  abounded,  grace  much  more  abounded  ; 
that  as  sin  has  reigned  to  death,  so  grace  might  reign,  through  righteousness, 
to  eternal  life,  by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  What  shall  we  say  then  ?  shall  we 
continue  in  sin,  that  grace  may  abound  ?  God  forbid :  how  shall  we,  who  are 
dead  to  sin,  live  any  longer  in  it  ? 

When  rational  creatures  rebel  against  their  righteous  and 
mighty  Maker,  they  cut  themselves  off  from  all  right  to  claim 
any  benefit  or  blessing  at  his  hands;  they  deserve  nothing  from 
him,  but  wrath  and  indignation;  and  if  they  are  recovered  from 
the  ruin  they  have  brought  on  themselves,  and  are  made  par- 
takers of  salvation,  it  is  from  the  good  pleasure  of  his  will;  and 
it  must  be  in  a  way  that  does  not  injure  his  perfections.  God 
foreknew  the  fall  of  creatures,  endued  with  reason ;  and  it  lay 
entirely  in  his  breast,  whether  he  would  provide  for  their  rescue, 
or  for  the  deliverance  of  any  number  of  them,  or  whether  he 
would  leave  them,  to  feel  the  bitter  consequences  of  their  apos- 
tasy; if  the  last  is  supposed^  he  acts  no  injustice,  for  he  gives 
them  no  more  than  their  deserts.  When  a  numerous  company 
of  the  mighty  potentates  of  heaven  conspired  against  the  High- 
est, under  Satan's  banner,  proudly  thinking  to  be  more  glorious 
than  God  had  made  them,  he,  who  brought  them  into  being, 
by  the  word  of  his  power,  cast  them  out  of  those  thrones  of 
honour,  in  which  they  sat  exalted,  banished  them  his  presence, 
and  doomed  them  to  suffer  eternal  years  of  wo  and  pain.  He 
had  not  a  thought  of  mercy  towards  the  princes  of  light,  when 
rebelUon  rose  among  them,  but  entirely  cast  them  off,  and  has 
reserved  them  in  everlasting  chains,  under  darkness,  to  the 

413 


414         OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GRACE, 

judgment  of  the  great  day,  at  which  time  fuhiess  of  torment 
will  be  inflicted  upon  them,  and  they  will  not  be  suffered  to 
range  about  the  world,  as  they  do  at  present,  but  will  be  shut 
up  in  that  prison,  where  sorrow  will  take  up  its  abode,  and 
where  despair  will  for  ever  keep  up  the  horrors  of  its  gloomy 
reign. 

No  one,  who  owns  the  Scriptures,  ever  had  the  face  to  charge 
God  with  injustice,  for  condemning  the  morning  stars  to  black- 
ness and  darkness.  He  might,  without  any  stain  to  his  honour, 
have  left  the  whole  race  of  sinful  men  to  destruction;  for  they, 
after  transgression,  have  no  more  claim  to  his  favour,  than  the 
devils;  but  he  was  pleased  to  choose  a  remnant  of  them,  in 
whose  salvation  he  might  make  known  the  riches  of  his  grace. 
That  this  might  be  done  without  injury  to  his  other  perfections, 
he  appointed  Christ  to  be  the  Redeemer,  to  satisfy  his  justice, 
and  so  to  procure  for  those  for  whom  he  died,  a  freedom  from 
all  evil,  and  a  title  to  all  good.  The  salvation  of  sinners, 
whether  we  regard  it,  in  its  platform  from  eternity,  or  in  its 
being  actually  brought  about  in  time,  or  in  its  entire  completion 
at  the  great  rising  day,  is  all  by  the  grace  of  God,  and  on  ac- 
count of  what  Christ  has  done  and  suffered,  and  is  not  in  the 
least  ov/ing  to  any  thing  which  is  in  man,  or  is  done  by  him. 
The  revelation  which  gives  an  account  of  man's  salvation  by 
grace,  is  what  is  properly  styled  the  gospel  of  God;  and  when 
men  hear  the  evangelical  doctrine  opened  and  unfolded,  unless 
the  Holy  Spirit  leads  them  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  they 
either  rise  up  with  rage  against  it,  or  they  abuse  it.  Conceited 
mortals,  who  are  for  working  out  their  salvation  by  their  own 
strength,  cannot  bear  that  the  glory  of  it  should  be  given  en- 
tirely to  the  grace  of  God,  and  not  partly  to  their  feeble  endea- 
vours; therefore  they  are  filled  with  hatred  against  the  doctrine 
of  grace,  and  wickedly  and  maliciously  charge  it  with  opening 
a  door  for  licentiousness;  and  in  drawing  this  spiteful  indict- 
ment against  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  Jesus,  it  is  to  be 
feared,  they  have  been  not  a  little  strengthened  by  the  odious 
consequences,  which  are  sometimes  attempted  to  be  deduced 
from  it,  by  such  as  wrest  it,  to  countenance  their  immoralities. 
These,  because  they  do  not  care  to  leave  their  sins,  or  to  prac- 
tise the  difficult  duties  of  repentance,  self-denial,  and  mortifica- 
tion, have  been  ready  to  say,  that  if  salvation  is  by  grace,  they 
shall  certainly  be  saved,  seeing  they  are  elected,  however  they 
live ;  but  herein  they  discover  their  great  ignorance  of  the  de- 
sign of  God,  in  the  Christian  scheme  of  salvation,  which  was 
not  barely  to  debase  man,  and  to  exalt  Christ,  but  to  advance 
holiness. 

The  great  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  in  the  words  which  have 
been  chosen  to  speak  from,  declared,  that  when  sin  had  brought 
men  under  the  desert  of  eternal  destruction,  and  so  had  abounded 


AS   IT   ENCOURAGES   HOLINESS.  415 

and  reigned  to  death,  grace  much  more  abounded,  to  bring 
about  the  salvation  of  men,  and  so  reigned  to  eternal  lile;  but 
that  it  only  reigned  in  a  way  of  righteousness,  because  God 
would  not  dishonour  his  perfections;  and  that  therefore  it  could 
reign  to  life  no  other  way  tlian  by  Christ,  who  could,  by  his 
active  and  passive  obedience,  satisfy  the  offended  justice  of 
God,  and  procure  eternal  life  for  sinners.  He  was  sensible, 
that  when  he  had  asserted,  that  the  grace  of  God  was  glorified, 
in  the  salvation  of  them  who  had  transgressed,  some  perverse 
creatures  might  plead,  that  the  more  men  sin,  the  more  the 
grace  of  God  is  glorified  in  their  salvation;  and  might  hence 
infer,  that  they  may  abound  in  sin,  that  more  glory  may  be 
brought  to  the  grace  of  God;  he  therefore  put  the  question, 
whether  men  might  continue  in  sin,  that  grace  might  abound, 
which  he  answered  in  the  negative,  in  a  way  that  showed  his 
utmost  abhorrence  of  the  vile  suggestion;  and,  to  support  his 
answer,  he  added  a  very  strong  argument,  in  the  form  of  a 
question,  to  let  us  know,  that  it  was  morally  impossible,  that  if 
we  are  dead  to  sin,  we  can  continue  in  the  wilful  commission 
of  iniquity.  This  accomplished  minister  of  Christ,  at  the  same 
time  that  he  advanced  the  grace  of  God,  took  care  to  guard  his 
doctrine  against  the  pernicious  consequences,  which  vain  and 
ignorant  pretenders  might  draw  from  it :  he,  when  he  exalted 
grace,  recommended  holiness,  as  necessary:  he  acted  like  a 
wise  master-builder,  who  does  not  bestow  a  great  measure  of 
garniture  on  the  front  of  the  structure,  which  he  rears,  and 
leave  the  other  parts  entirely  without  ornament,  but  takes  care 
that  the  whole  edifice  be  well  proportioned  and  compacted 
together,  and  that  all  the  parts  of  it  be  set  off  in  the  best  man- 
ner. 

It  has  been  common  at  all  times,  and  never  more  than  in  our 
day,  for  the  opinionated  sons  of  flesh  to  rail  at  the  doctrine  of 
salvation  by  grace,  and  to  charge  it  with  encouraging  licentious- 
ness; therefore,  to  vindicate  this  glorious  doctrine  against  so  vile 
and  diabolical  a  calumny,  cannot  be  unseasonable  or  improper: 
and  it  may  very  easily  be  made  to  appear,  that  there  is  not  the 
least  foundation  for  such  an  unrighteous  accusation.  In  doing 
of  which, 

I.  I  shall  show  what  we  understand  by  the  Scripture  doctrine 
of  man's  salvation  by  the  free  grace  of  God,  and  shall  give  a 
short  summary  of  those  evangelical  points,  which  we  take  in 
our  notion  of  it ;  in  doing  of  which,  I  shall  evince,  in  the  gene- 
ral, that  it  does  not  encourage  licentiousness. 

In  the  oracles  of  truth,  the  salvation  of  men  is  attributed  to 
the  free  and  the  abundant  grace  of  God.  The  apostle  Paul 
has  declared,  that  the  design  of  God  in  saving  sinners,  was  to 
display  the  riches  of  his  grace,  in  the  following  remarkable  pas- 
sage: "  God,  who  is  rich  in  mercy,  for  the  great  love  wherewith 


416  OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GRACE, 

he  loved  ns,  when  we  were  dead  in  sins,  has  quickened  ns;-- 
that  he  might  show  the  exceeding  riches  of  his  grace,  in  his 
kindness  towards  us  through  Christ;  for  by  grace  are  ye  saved, 
through  faith,  and  that  not  of  yourselves,  it  is  the  gift  of  God, 
not  by  works,  least  any  one  should  boast,"  Eph.  ii.  4 — 9.  It 
is  not  by  the  works  of  the  law,  but  by  free  mercy,  that  we  are 
saved;  for  we  are  told,  "that  the  kindness  and  love  of  God 
our  Saviour  appeared  in  that,  not  by  works  of  righteousness, 
which  we  had  done,  but  according  to  his  mercy  he  saved  us," 
Tit.  in.  4,  5.  It  is,  to  the  comfort  of  all  that  are  weary  and 
heavy  laden  with  the  burden  of  sin,  declared,  that  "  the  grace 
of  God,  and  the  gift  by  grace,  which  is  through  one,  even  Jesus 
Christ,  has  abounded  to  many;  and  that  they  who  receive  abun- 
dance of  grace,  and  the  gift  of  righteousness,  shall  reign  in  life 
by  one,  even  Jesus  Christ,"  Rom.  v.  15,  17.  All  saving  bless- 
ings are  conveyed  to  us  in  and  through  Christ,  because  he  pur- 
chased them  for  us,  by  the  infinite  merit  of  his  obedience  and 
death;  yet  salvation  is  ascribed  to  rich,  free,  and  abundant  grace, 
because  it  was  by  grace  that  we  were  appointed  to  salvation, 
and  it  was  love  v/hich  provided  a  Redeemer  for  us,  who  might 
satisfy  infinite  justice  for  us,  when  we  were  guilty;  might  recon- 
cile us,  when  we  were  enemies,  and  might  save  us,  when  we 
were  lost;  that  so  grace  might  reign,  through  righteousness,  in 
our  recovery  from  ruin. 

Salvation,  taken  in  the  general,  is  ascribed  to  the  grace  of 
God,  in  the  sacred  volume;  and  further,  all  the  principal  parts 
of  it,  such  as  election,  justification,  regeneration,  and  effectual 
calling,  and  the  consummating  our  happiness,  are  declared  to 
be  from  grace.  If  we  consider  the  heirs  of  salvation  as  chosen 
by  God,  and  predestinated  to  eternal  glory,  it  is  from  his  sove- 
reign grace ;  it  is  expressly  said,  "  God  has  chosen  us  in  Christ, 
before  the  foundation  of  the  world;  having  predestinated  us 
to  the  adoption  of  children,  through  Jesus  Christ,  to  himself, 
according  to  the  sovereign  pleasure  of  his  will,  to  the  praise 
of  the  glory  of  his  grace,"  Eph.  i.  4,  5,  6.  If  we  regard  those 
who  are  redeemed  from  wrath,  as  having  their  sins  forgiven, 
and  being  justified,  it  must  be  granted,  that  it  is  because  of  the 
active  and  passive  obedience  of  Christ,  imputed  to  them,  and 
is  the  reward  of  his  merit;  but  if  we  bear  in  mind,  that  it  was 
grace  which  provided  a  righteousness  of  infinite  value,  and 
which  imputes  it  to  us,  we  cannot  wonder  to  find  it  declared 
in  Scripture,  that  "  in  Christ  we  have  redemption  through  his 
blood,  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  according  to  the  riches  of  God's 
grace;"  that  "we  are  justified  freely  by  grace,  through  the 
redemption  purchased  by  Christ,  and,  being  so,  are  made  heirs, 
according  to  the  hope  of  eternal  life,"  Eph.  v.  7.  If  we  view 
such  as  are  delivered  from  the  power  of  indwelling  sin,  as  born 
again,  as  turned  from  darkness  to  light,  and  as  effectually  called. 


AS   IT   ENCOURAGES   HOLINESS.  417 

we  must,  if  we  believe  the  authority  of  God's  word,  own  that 
they  are  indebted  for  their  regeneration,  their  conversion,  and 
their  holy  vocation  to  free  and  efficacious  grace,  and  sovereign 
distinguishing  mercy.  The  Scriptures  of  truth  have  told  us, 
that  it  is  "  God  the  Father,  who,  according  to  his  abundant 
mercy,  has  begot  us  again  to  a  lively  hope,  and  to  an  inherit- 
ance incorruptible,  undefiled,  and  never  fading ;"  that  it  is 
"according  to  his  mercy  that  he  saves,  by  the  washing  of  regen- 
eration, and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Spirit-,"  that  "it  is  through 
the  tender  mercies  of  our  God,  that  the  day-spring  from  on  high 
has  visited  us,  to  give  light  to  them  that  sit  in  darkness,  and  in 
the  shadow  of  death,  to  guide  our  feet  into  the  way  of  peace  ;" 
that  it  is  God  "  who  has  saved  us,  and  called  us  with  a  holy 
calling,  not  according  to  our  works,  but  according  to  his  own 
purpose  and  grace,  which  was  given  us  in  Christ  Jesus,  before 
the  foundation  of  the  world,  but  is  since  made  manifest  by  the 
appearing  of  Christ  in  the  flesh,"  1  Pet.  i.  3.  Tit.  iii.  5.  Luke 
i.  7S,  79.  2  Tim.  i.  9,  10.  If  we  let  our  thoughts  go  on  to  the 
consummating  of  the  design  of  God  and  Christ,  in  perfect  bless- 
edness being  conferred  on  those  who  are  justified  and  sanctified, 
we  must  still  confess  that  they  are  indebted  for  the  crowns  of 
glory,  which  they  will  wear  in  the  country  of  light,  to  abundant 
mercy  and  rich  grace ;  for  we  are  assured,  "  that  grace  must 
reign  through  righteousness  to  eternal  life,"  Romans  v.  21  ; 
vi.  23,  and  that  this,  let  it  be  ever  so  great  a  blessing,  is  the  free 
gift  of  God:  so  that  whether  we  consider  our  salvation  as  it  was 
decreed  by  God  before  time,  as  it  was  purchased  by  Christ,  in 
the  fulness  of  time,  as  it  is  begun  in  the  day  of  God's  power,  or 
as  it  is  completed  when  we  leave  the  body,  we  must  own  that 
it  is  all  of  grace,  and  is  the  gift  of  grace. 

As  God,  in  saving  sinners,  designed  to  glorify  his  free  grace, 
and  to  make  his  undeserved  goodness  appear  in  its  full  beauty, 
so  one  great  end  he  had  in  view  was  to  promote  holiness.  All 
the  several  parts  of  salvation  are  mentioned  in  Scripture,  as 
what  should  stir  us  up  to  abound  in  holiness  and  good  works. 
If  we  are  elected  by  God,  it  is  that "  we  may  be  holy  and  blame- 
less before  him  in  love,"  Eph.  i.  4,  5.  2  Thess.  ii.  13.  1  Pet. 
i.  2,  and  if  we  reap  the  benefits  of  electing  love,  it  is  "  through 
sanctification  of  the  Spirit  to  obedience."  If  Christ  "  gave 
himself  for  us,"  it  was  that  "he  might  redeem  us  from  all 
iniquity,  and  purify  us  to  himself  a  peculiar  people  zealous  of 
good  works,"  Tit.  ii.  13.  If  we  are  ransomed,  not  with  cor- 
riiptiblc  things,  but  with  the  "precious  blood  of  Christ,"  it  is, 
that  "  we  may  be  delivered  from  a  vain  conversation,  and  may 
pass  the  time  of  our  sojourning  here  below  in  fear,"  1  Pet.  i. 
17,  IS,  19.  If  we  are  "  bought  with  a  price,"  it  is  that  we  may 
"  look  upon  ourselves  to  be  no  longer  our  own,"  but  may  be 
sensible  of  the  obligations  we  are  under  to  "glorify  God  in  our 

53 


418         OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OE  GRACE, 

bodies  and  spirits,  which  are  his,"  1  Cor.  vi,  20.  If  we  are 
•'new  formed  by  God,"  it  is  "for  himself,  that  we  may  show 
forth  his  praise,"  Isa.  xliii.  21.  If  we  are  made  partakers  of  a 
spiritual  vocation,  it  is,  that  as  he,  who  has  called  us,  is  holy, 
•'  we  may  be  holy  in  all  manner  of  conversation,"  2  Pet.  i,  15. 
If  we  receive  the  earnest  of  a  kingdom  that  cannot  be  shaken, 
we  must "  serve  God  acceptably,  and  with  godly  fear,"  Heb.  xii. 
28.  If  we  are  brought  to  "  see  God"  in  the  light  of  glory,  it  is 
not  without  "  following  after  holiness,"  Heb.  xii.  14.  If  we 
enter  within  the  "  gates  of  the  heavenly  city,"  and  "eat  of  the 
tree  of  life,"  Rev.  xxii.  14,  15,  we  must  be  such  as  do  God's 
commandments,  and  do  not  "  give  way  to  impurity,  or  love  to 
make  a  lie." 

We  find  the  Scripture  is  far  from  supposing,  that  man's  being 
indebted  to  free  grace,  for  all  the  parts  of  his  salvation,  is  any 
encouragement  to  act  licentiously;  it  asserts,  that  if  man  is 
made  partaker  of  the  benefits,  which  are  the  fruits  of  unde- 
served love,  he  is  by  this  laid  under  obligations  to  be  holy,  and 
to  abound  in  good  works ;  that  he  may  manifest,  that  he  has 
had  imparted  to  him  the  gifts  of  mercy;  that  he  may  show  his 
gratitude  to  the  author  and  giver  of  the  things  which  relate  to 
his  everlasting  peace,  by  living  to  his  praise;  and  that  he  may 
have  a  meetness  to  inhabit  the  pure  and  incorruptible  realms, 
where  he  shall  see  his  Redeemer  as  he  is.  When  men  think, 
that  ascribing  the  salvation  of  sinners  to  the  free  grace  of  God, 
has  a  tendency  to  loose  the  bands  of  duty,  it  is  because  they 
have  no  right  knowledge  of  the  doctrine  of  grace,  and  because 
they  talk  of  what  they  do  not  understand.  We  may  take  a 
summary  view  of  those  evangelical  truths,  which  are  compre- 
hended in  what  is  commonly  called  the  doctrine  of  man^s  sal- 
vation by  grace,  in  the  following  six  articles: 

1.  The  very  notion  of  salvation  includes  in  it  the  need  the 
persons  have  to  be  saved,  who  are  the  subjects  of  it ;  for  if 
there  had  been  no  transgression,  there  would  have  been  no 
need  of  a  restoration ;  so  that  if  we  suppose  men  are  not  happy, 
without  salvation,  we  must  allow,  that,  in  themselves,  they  are 
in  a  miserable  condition.  God  made  man  upright,  and  he 
came  pure  out  of  his  Maker's  hands;  who  entered  into  a  cove- 
nant of  works  with  him,  and  all  his  posterity  in  him,  as  a  com- 
mon head,  promising  life,  on  condition  of  perfect  obedience: 
this  covenant  our  common  father  broke,  by  sinning  against 
God;  by  this  apostasy,  he,  and  we  in  him,  fell  from  original 
righteousness,  lost  communion  with  God,  and  so  became  dead 
in  sin ;  the  guilt  of  the  first  Adam's  sin  is  imputed  to  all  his 
posterity,  and  a  corrupt  nature  is  derived  to  them,  whereby 
they  are  averse  to  all  good,  and  prone  to  all  evil.  Having  fallen 
from  God,  it  is  not  possible  for  us  to  restore  ourselves ;  for  all 
the  good  we  can  do,  is  previously  owing  to  God,  by  the  law  of 


AS   IT   ENCOURAGES   HOLINESS.  419 

creation,  and  so  cannot  make  atonement  for  what  we  omit;  but, 
setting  this  aside,  our  minds  are  darkened,  our  wills  are  filled 
with  enmity  against  God,  and  our  affections  run  astray  from 
him;  so  that  when  we  do  what  is  materially  good,  we  do  not  act 
from  a  principle  of  love  to  our  supreme  Lawgiver,  we  regard 
not  his  will,  neither  do  we  make  his  glory  our  end.  The  conse- 
quence of  all  this  is,  that  the  Most  High  will  not  manifest  his 
mercy  to  us,  on  account  of  any  thing  in  us,  or  any  thing  done 
by  us:  we  are  debtors  to  his  justice,  and  must  fall  victims  to  his 
anger,  unless  he  is  pleased,  out  of  his  sovereign  free  love,  to  re- 
member us  in  our  low  estate,  and  provide  for  our  recovery,  in  a 
way  not  derogatory  to  his  perfections,  and  not  inconsistent  with 
his  maintaining  his  own  honour. 

2.  God  foreknew  the  fall  of  man,  and  knew  how  to  turn  it 
to  his  own  glory;  he,  in  his  sovereign  pleasure,  thought  fit  not  to 
leave  the  whole  of  the  human  race  to  perish :  a  certain  deter- 
minate number  he  chose  in  Christ  to  salvation,  without  foresight 
of  good  works,  as  causes  moving  him  hereto,  but  according  to 
the  good  pleasure  of  his  will:  these  he  has  predestinated,  to  be 
conformed  to  the  image  of  his  Son,  that  in  time  they  may  be 
holy  and  blameless  before  him;  and  that  at  the  end  of  their  days, 
they  may  be  happy  with  him.  For  the  salvation  of  his  elect 
God  the  Father  provided,  before  the  world  began,  in  entering 
into  a  covenant  witli  God  the  Son,  as  their  Head,  and  with  them 
in  him:  this  covenant  being  made  between  two  immutable  Per- 
sons, is  invariable ;  and  the  most  ample  provision  is  made  for 
the  salvation  of  such  as  were  represented  by  Christ,  seeing 
their  welfare  is  not  made  to  depend  on  uncertain  conditions  to 
be  performed  by  them,  but  all  things  are  promised  freely  to  be, 
by  grace,  wrought  in  them,  in  due  time,  relating  to  holiness  and 
happiness. 

3.  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  our  Surety  and  Redeemer,  in  the 
fulness  of  time,  appeared  in  the  flesh,  and,  being  God  as  well 
as  man,  offered  a  satisfaction  of  infinite  value  to  the  offended 
justice  of  his  Father,  by  fulfilling  the  law,  and  suffering  death, 
for  the  sins  of  his  people:  and  all  that  are  justified  before  God, 
are  justified  freely  by  his  grace,  through  the  redemption  pur- 
chased by  Christ.  The  active  and  the  passive  obedience  of  the 
Redeemer  is  imputed  to  them,  as  their  sole  justifying  righteous- 
ness; and  for  the  sake  of  this  only  their  sins  are  forgiven,  and 
their  persons  are  accepted  as  righteous  in  the  sight  of  their 
Judge,  and  not  for  the  sake  of  faith,  repentance,  or  sincere  obe- 
dience. Faith  is  wrought  in  their  hearts,  to  receive  Christ,  and 
to  rest  upon  him;  and  as  it  is  employed  in  justification,  it  only 
looks  to  him  as  a  Priest,  dying  for  sin,  and  atoning  for  trans- 
gression: but,  in  the  full  compass  of  it,  it  receives  him  in  all  his 
offices;  it  obeys  him  as  a  Prophet,  and  submits  to  him  as  a  King; 
though  he  delivers  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  as  a  broken  cove- 


420         OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GRACE, 

nant  of  works,  yet  he  never  designed  to  abrogate  it,  as  a  rule  of 
life,  and  to  substitute  in  its  room  a  new  remedial  law  of  grace, 
which,  instead  of  perfect  righteousness,  requires  sincere  obedi- 
ence, as  a  condition  of  God's  favour. 

4.  Regeneration  is  not  owing  to  man's  power,  will,  or  abili- 
ties ;  but  he  is  renewed,  or  new-created,  by  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  who  enlightens  his  mind,  renews  his  will,  and  purifies 
his  affections.  This  is  a  work  of  grace,  and  he  is  altogether  pas- 
sive in  it :  but  the  design  of  this  work  upon  him  is,  that  he  may 
be  converted,  or  rendered  active  to  every  good  work,  and  may 
be  sanctified,  or  live  to  the  praise  and  glory  of  God.  The  Holy 
Spirit,  who  is  the  eflicient  cause  to  work  all  grace  in  such  as  are 
born  from  above,  enables  them  to  repent  of  their  sins,  to  resist 
indwelling  corruption,  and  Satan's  temptations,  to  abound  in 
good  works,  and  to  practise  the  duties  of  mortification  and  self- 
denial,  with  a  view  not  of  men's  applause,  but  of  advancing 
God's  glory  in  the  world,  and  from  a  desire  of  showing  their 
gratitude  to  the  Father,  who  chose  them  to  holiness  and  salva- 
tion; to  the  Son,  who  redeemed  them  from  wrath  and  a  vain  con- 
versation ;  and  to  the  Spirit,  who  new  forms  them  for  himself, 
that  they  may  show  forth  his  praise. 

5.  Such  as  are  sanctified,  are  not  left  to  carry  on,  by  their 
own  power,  the  work  which  they  could  not  begin,  but  they  are 
enabled,  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  hold  on  their  way  in  the  paths 
of  duty:  having  continual  supplies  from  him,  as  a  Spirit  of  grace, 
they  advance  from  lower  to  higher  degrees  of  holiness,  they  go 
from  strength  to  strength ;  they  fight  the  good  fight  of  faith,  and 
finish  the  course  of  godliness  laid  out  for  them;  when  they  de- 
pend on  the  aids  of  divine  grace,  they  move  not  with  a  heavy 
pace,  and  v/ith  slow  steps,  but  they  go  on  with  freedom  and 
vigour;  forgetting  the  things  that  are  behind,  they  reach  after 
the  things  which  are  before,  and  they  eagerly  follow  after  holi- 
ness, without  which  none  can  see  God ;  by  the  light  of  faith,  here, 
for  their  comfort;  or  in  the  light  of  glory,  hereafter,  for  the  con- 
summating their  eternal  happiness, 

6.  When  true  believers  have  finished  their  work  of  faith,  and 
their  labour  of  love,  grace,  which  laid  the  foundation  of  their 
happiness  in  the  decree  of  election,  and  in  the  covenant  between 
the  Father  and  the  Son,  lays  on  the  top-stone  of  their  salvation 
in  glory.  The  good  Spirit  conducts  them  to  the  land  of  upright- 
ness, where  no  unruly  motion  will  ever  disturb  the  quiet  of 
their  breasts,  but  where,  in  sinless  innocence,  they  will  spend  a 
happy  eternity;  and,  with  a  perfectly  holy  frame,  will,  to  ever- 
lasting, engage  in  God's  service,  without  the  least  inclination  to 
deviate  from  him. 

If  we  respect  our  salvation,  as  ordered  by  God  from  eternity, 
it  was  by  grace,  but  that  we  might  be  holy;  if  we  consider  it  as 
coming  to  us  freely,  as  the  reward  of  Christ's  purchase,  it  was 


AS    IT   ENCOURAGES    HOLINESS.  421 

that  we  might  be  conformed  to  his  image,  and  might  act  in 
obedience  to  him,  as  his  peciiUar  people;  if  we  view  it  as 
it  is  appUed  to  us  by  the  Spirit,  it  is  that  we  may  be  holy  here, 
though  not  perfectly  holy,  and  that  we  may  be  completely  holy 
hereafter  in  a  better  world.  Though  salvation  is  by  grace,  yet 
holiness  is  a  necessary  and  essential  part  of  it ;  and  it  was  never 
the  design  of  God  to  manifest  his  grace,  without  bringing  such 
as  are  the  subjects  of  it  to  bear  some  resemblance  to  himself  in 
purity. 

Seeing  matters  stand  thus,  it  is  only  ignorance  of  the  doctrine 
of  grace,  which  makes  some  men  charge  it  with  opening  a  door 
to  licentiousness,  or  relaxing  the  obligations  to  duty;  and  which 
makes  others  draw  odious  and  false  consequences  from  it  to 
encourage  themselves  in  laziness  and  immoralities.  Did  God 
the  Father  choose  the  heirs  of  glory  to  holiness,  as  well  as  hap- 
piness? Did  God  the  Son  redeem  them,  by  his  precious  blood, 
that  they  might  be  zealous  of  good  works  ?  And  does  God  the 
Holy  Spirit  renew  them,  in  the  whole  frame  of  their  minds, 
that  they  may  walk  in  the  paths  of  purity,  and  in  the  ways  of 
uprightness  ?  And  will  any,  who  desire  to  be  made  partakers 
of  salvation,  venture  to  run  counter  to  the  end  the  sacred  Three 
had  ill  view,  as  they  took  their  different  parts,  in  contriving, 
procuring,  and  effecting  the  happiness  of  such  as  are  rescued 
from  destruction?  Are  believers  chosen, redeemed,  and  renew- 
ed, that  they  may  be  holy,  though  not  because  they  are  holy? 
And  can  any  have  the  face  to  say,  that  holiness,  which  was 
designed  to  be  promoted  in  election,  in  redemption,  and  in 
regeneration,  is  not  absolutely  necessary,  if  it  must  not  be  made 
the  cause  or  condition  of  salvation?  It  is  only  by  reason  of 
men's  pride  and  vanity,  which  put  them  upon  desiring  to  be 
their  own  saviours,  that  they  are  so  forward  to  arraign  the  doc- 
trine of  grace,  which  leaves  no  room  for  boasting,  as  being  an 
unholy  doctrine ;  and  it  is  from  men's  gross  ignorance  and 
aggravated  wickedness  that  they  turn  it  into  lasciviousness.  God 
has  declared,  that  the  great  ends  of  showing  the  riches  of  free 
grace,  of  exalting  Christ,  and  of  promoting  holiness,  may  be  car- 
ried on  together;  and  let  him  be  true,  though  men,  who  run  into 
opposite  schemes  of  error,  be  found  liars.  Nothing  can  be  more 
intolerable,  than  the  arrogance  of  such  as  bespatter  and  reproach 
the  doctrine  of  grace,  and  nothing  can  be  more  detestable,  than 
the  impiety  of  such  as  pervert  and  abuse  it. 

II.  Having  in  the  general,  under  the  former  head,  vindicated 
the  doctrine  of  grace,  from  the  charge  of  promoting  licentious- 
ness; I  shall  now  more  distinctly  show,  with  respect  to  the 
several  parts  of  our  salvation,  that  no  encouragettient  is  given 
to  negligence  or  impurity,  by  their  being  ascribed  to  the  free 
grace  of  God. 

It  cannot  be  denied,  but  that  the  glorious  doctrine  of  free 


422         OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GRACE, 

grace  has  been  abused,  by  men  of  wicked  principles,  and  vile 
practices.  Some,  before  the  apostles  had  finished  their  warfare 
here  on  earth,  endeavoured  to  "  turn  the  grace  of  God  into 
wantonness,"  who  are  most  severely  condemned  by  Peter,  in 
his  second  epistle,  and  by  Jude  in  his  epistle,  both  which  were 
written  on  tlie  same  occasion:  the  former  of  these  has  the  fol- 
lowing expressions,  2  Pet.  ii.  9,  10, 12 — 14,  17 — 19:  "The  Lord 
knows  how  to  reserve  the  unjust  to  the  day  of  judgment,  to  be 
punished,  chiefly  them  that  walk  after  the  flesh,  in  the  lust  of 
uncleanness:  they  shall  perish  in  their  own  corruption,  and 
shall  receive  the  reward  of  unrighteousness:  they  count  it  plea- 
sure to  riot  in  the  day  time;  having  eyes  full  of  the  adulteress, 
and  which  cannot  cease  from  sin:  to  them  the  mist  of  darkness 
is  reserved  for  ever,  for  when  they  speak  great  swelling  words 
of  vanity,  they  allure,  through  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  those  who 
for  a  while  escaped  from  them  who  lived  in  error;  whilst  they 
promise  them  liberty,  they  themselves  are  the  servants  of  sin." 
The  other  inspired  writer  has  given  us  the  reason  of  his  inditing 
his  epistle,  Jude  3,  4,  in  the  following  words:  "  It  was  needful 
for  me  to  write  to  you,  and  to  exhort  you,  to  contend  earnestly 
for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints ;  for  there  are  certain 
men  crept  in  unawares,  who  were  before  ordained  to  this  con- 
demnation, ungodly  men,  turning  the  grace  of  God  into  lascivi- 
ousness."  Before  the  good  apostles  had  sealed  the  truth  with 
their  blood,  the  Gnostics  and  Nicolaitans  had  crept  in  among 
Christians,  before  they  were  aware,  who  were  ungodly  pre- 
tenders, that  were  forward  to  talk  of  the  free  grace  of  God,  in 
great  swelling  words  of  vanity;  but  abused  it  by  making  it  a 
handle  for  loose  practices;  for  they  held,  that  fornication  and 
adultery  were  things  lawful,  and  that  it  was  no  sin  to  equivo- 
cate, or  to  conform  occasionally  to  the  heathen  ceremonies,  and 
they  practised  all  manner  of  abominable  wickedness.  These 
had  their  impiety  from  Simon  Magus,  the  father  of  almost  all 
heresies.  This  impostor,  who  pretended  he  was  the  supreme 
God,  who  appeared  diff'erently,  as  the  Father,  as  the  Son,  and 
as  the  Spirit,  in  different  dispensations,  lived  in  avowed  forni- 
cation with  one  Helena,  a  common  prostitute,  whom  he  had 
brought  from  the  stews;  and  he  gave  out  that  she  was  the  first 
product  of  his  mind;  that  by  her  he  made  the  angels,  who  had 
hitherto  usurped  the  government  of  the  world,  and  had  not 
behaved  well:  he  asserted,  that  the  authors  of  the  Scriptures 
were  inspired  by  these  angels,  and  consequently  that  they  were 
not  worthy  of  regard:  he  therefore  allowed  such  as  believed  in 
him  and  Helena,  to  live  as  they  pleased,  persuading  them  not 
to  mind  the  threatenings  of  the  law,  and  saying  that  salvation 
was  only  by  grace,  and  that  good  works  were  not  necessary, 
there  being  no  essential  difference  between  the  things  com- 
manded in  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  matters  there  prohibited: 


AS   IT   ENCOURAGES   HOLINESS.  423 

thus,  by  promising  men  liberty,  he  made  them  the  servants  of 
sin;  for  his  followers  ran  into  all  manner  of  impurity.  We  see, 
that  the  abusing  the  doctrine  of  grace,  was  one  of  the  abomi- 
nations of  the  first  heretic  that  infested  the  church,  after  the 
appearance  of  our  Saviour  in  the  flesh;  his  corrupt  tenets,  as 
to  this,  were  embraced  by  all  the  several  sects,  which  took  the 
proud,  vainglorious  title  of  Gnostics,  or  enlightened  persons, 
men  of  deep  knowledge,  and  which  prevailed  very  much  in  the 
second  century.  This  wicked  abuse  of  a  most  holy  doctrine, 
is  what  was  not  confined  to  those  early  ages;  the  churches  of 
Christ  have  often  been  pestered  with  a  generation  of  vipers, 
who  are  for  turning  the  grace  of  God  into  wantonness.  When 
the  devil  has  not  been  able  to  run  down  this  comfortable  doc- 
trine, by  open  opposition,  he  has  employed  his  missionaries  to 
disgrace  it,  by  drawing  odious  consequences  from  it.  Some 
impure  persons  can  talk  much  of  free  grace;  nay,  they  may 
affect  to  be  more  zealous  for  the  love  of  God  in  election,  than 
many  who  have  felt  the  blessed  effects  of  it,  and  may  scarce  be 
able  to  bear  to  hear  of  any  other  truth :  these,  though  they  may 
speak  great  swelling  words,  about  free,  rich,  sovereign  grace, 
yet  have  no  part  or  portion  in  it ;  but  are  in  the  gall  of  bit- 
terness, and  under  the  bond  of  iniquity,  as  well  as  Simon,  the 
first  founder  of  their  impiety.  They  are  really  enemies  to 
Christ,  and  they  wound  him  in  the  house  of  his  friends;  and, 
unless  they  are  brought  to  repentance,  and  to  the  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  truth,  their  condemnation  will  be  more  severe  than 
that  of  ignorant  creatures,  who  knew  none  of  the  truths  of  the 
gospel. 

There  have  been  some  who,  by  their  life  and  conversation, 
have  showed  that  they  were  far  from  being  enemies  to  holi- 
ness, Avho  have  amused  themselves  with  fancies  about  God's 
loving  and  delighting  in  his  elect,  while  they  were  in  a  state  of 
nature,  of  his  seeing  no  sin  in  his  people,  and  of  good  works 
not  being  necessary  to  salvation,  and  who  have  been  forward 
to  condemn  pressing  men  to  duty,  as  legal  preaching,  and  to 
speak  of  exhorting  to  repentance,  mortification,  and  self-denial, 
as  low  and  mean  stuff.  Far  be  it  from  us  to  charge  some  who 
have  gone  into  this  way  of  thinking  and  talking,  with  turning 
the  grace  of  God  into  wantonness;  however,  as  we  can  state 
the  doctrine  we  vindicate  from  the  charge  of  Antinomianism, 
so  as  to  keep  it  entirely  clear  of  attributing  too  much  to  the  will 
of  men,  without  admitting  these  positions,  which  have  great 
difficulties  attending  them,  we  certainly  are  at  liberty  to  do  it: 
and  as  we  would  not  take  into  our  notion  of  it  what  we  think 
easy  to  be  perverted,  we  desire  not  to  have  the  opinions  of 
others,  which  are  not  embraced  by  the  generality  of  the  pleaders 
for  free  grace,  attributed  to  us. 

If  we  allow  the  Scripture  to  be  given  by  divine  inspiration. 


424         OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GRACE, 

we  must  own,  matters  are  expressed  there  in  the  justest  way; 
and  we  shall  find  it  safe  to  speak  according  to  it,  if  we  are  not 
guilty  of  the  intolerable  folly,  which  most  erring  men  run  into, 
of  setting  one  imperfect  sentence  in  opposition  to  the  whole 
tenor  of  divine  revelation,  or  the  analogy  of  faith.  As  to  the 
case  before  us,  we  have  a  noble  account  given  us,  by  the  apos- 
tle Paul,  of  the  tendency  of  the  doctrine  of  grace,  to  promote 
piety,  honesty,  and  temperance,  in  the  following  words.  Tit.  ii. 
1 1 — 14,  which  are  worthy  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  dictated  them 
to  him:  "The  grace  of  God,  which  brings  salvation,  has  ap- 
peared to  all  men,  teachhig  us,  that  denying  ungodliness  and 
worldly  lusts,  we  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  piously  in  this 
present  world ;  expecting  the  blessed  hope,  and  the  glorious 
appearing  of  our  great  God  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ ;  who 
gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity, 
and  might  purify  to  himself  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good 
works."  This  is  an  excellent  account  of  the  true  doctrine, 
which  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  are  to  preach;  and  therefore 
it  is  no  wonder,  that  the  inspired  instructer  added  to  this  decla- 
ration, the  following  charge  to  Titus,  his  own  son,  after  the 
common  faith:  "These  things  speak,  exhort,  and  rebuke  with 
all  authority;  let  no  man  despise  thee."  We  are  to  show  men 
their  duty,  to  reprove  them  for  their  sins,  and  to  exhort  them 
to  follow  after  holiness,that  they  may  adorn  the  gospel  of  God ; 
and  we  must  not  be  daunted,  if  we  are  called  legal  preachers, 
and  retailers  of  duties:  we  are  likewise  to  stand  up  for  the  free- 
ness,  the  riches,  and  the  abundance  of  divine  grace,  and  must 
not  be  intimidated,  in  defending  that  doctrine  which  attributes 
men's  salvation  to  the  mercy  of  God,  and  the  purchase  of  Christ, 
by  the  senseless  clamour  raised  against  us  by  a  generation  of 
formal  pharisees,  as  if  we  promoted  licentiousness. 

If  men  would  think  coolly,  and  argae  rationally,  there  would 
be  little  need  of  any  thing  more  than  fairly  stating  the  doctrine 
of  grace,  in  order  to  vindicate  it  from  the  charge  of  Antino- 
mianism,  or  to  show  that  it  has  no  tendency  to  promote  licen- 
tiousness; but  as  men,  while  they  are  in  a  state  of  unregeneracy, 
are  swelled  with  spiritual  pride,  and  puffed  up  with  high  and 
vain  conceits  of  their  own  performances,  they  cannot  bear  the 
thoughts  of  being  wholly  indebted  to  free  grace  for  their  salva- 
tion, and  therefore  they  hate  the  doctrine,  because  it  supposes 
them  not  to  be  so  considerable  in  the  eyes  of  God,  as  they 
imagine  they  should  be,  and  so  stains  the  pride  of  their  glory; 
and  as  they  hate  it,  it  is  no  wonder  that  they  oppose  and  malign 
it,  and  set  it  off  in  the  most  odious  colours,  as  if  it  did  not  inchide 
the  necessity  of  that  holiness  of  heart  and  life,  which  they  are 
not  really  and  sincerely  affected  to;  though,  to  serve  a  turn, 
and  to  throw  a  mist  before  the  eyes  of  the  unwary,  they  would 
wSeem  noisy  advocates  for  it.     No  charge  can  be  really  more 


AS   IT   ENCOURAGES   HOLINESS.  •       425 

unjust,  than  what  furious  Legalists  bring  against  the  evangeli- 
cal doctrine  of  free  grace,  which  will,  in  some  measure,  appear, 
if  the  following  particulars  are  carefully  weighed. 

I.  The  doctrine  of  free  and  absolute  election  no  ways  weak- 
ens the  obligations  we  lie  under  to  follow  after  holiness, 
because  it  is  averred,  by  all  who  know  any  thing  of  the  Scrip- 
ture account  of  this  glorious  and  comfortable  doctrine,  that 
though  election  is  free  and  sovereign,*  absolute  and  uncondi- 
tional, though  men  are  not  elected  to  happiness,  because  God 
foresaw  they  would  be  holy,  yet  he  chose  them  to  holiness.t 
Election  does  not  dissolve  the  obligation  men  lie  under  to  God, 
as  creatures;  as  they  are  formed  by  him  out  of  nothing,  as  they 
are  supported  by  his  providential  care,  and  are  supplied  by  his 
bounty,  and  as  in  his  hand  are  all  their  ways;  they, by  the  law 
of  creation,  are  obliged  to  love  him,  to  obey  his  will,  and,  in  all 
their  natural,  moral,  and  religious  actions,  to  aim  at  the  ad- 
vancement of  his  glory,  as  their  chief  and  ultimate  end,  A 
person  must  have  a  head  very  oddly  turned,  that  can  bring 
himself,  on  calm  reflection,  to  think,  that  all  these  obligations, 
which  lie  upon  a  man,  as  he  is  a  creature,  are  either  cancelled 
or  weakened,  by  God's  having  had  thoughts  of  peace  towards 
him,  before  the  foundation  of  the  world.  It  is  strange  arguing, 
that  God's  kind  intentions  to  him,  loose  the  bands  of  duty,  or 
break  the  relation  wherein  he  stands  to  his  Maker  and  Law- 
giver, as  his  subject.  Nay,  if  we  could  suppose  that  a  man,  in 
a  state  of  nature,  could  get  any  positive  proof  that  he  is  the 
elect  of  God,  which  by  the  way  is  impossible ;  yet  could  it  be 
so,  this  would  be  so  far  from  striking  out  his  debt  of  obedience, 
that  it  would  add  to  it  a  debt  of  love  and  gratitude.  Surely, 
no  one  can  say,  that  if  a  man  could  have  the  surest  evidence 
of  his  being  elected  by  God,  he  has  liberty  to  return  to  him 
hatred  for  love,  and  contempt  for  kindness.  Certainly,  an  all- 
wise  Being  cannot  be  thought  to  throw  away  favours  on  men, 
which  would  be  the  case,  if  they  were  more  at  liberty  to  cast 
contempt  on  his  law,  and  to  repeat  acts  of  rebellion  against 
him,  by  reason  of  his  having  pre-ordained  their  happiness. 

If  we  consult  the  oracles  of  truth,  we  shall  find,  that  the  pur- 
pose of  God,  in  electing  persons,  and  in  predestinating  them  to 
life,  was,  that  they  might  be  holy;  and  there  will  be  no  need  to 
multiply  passages,  tending  to  prove  this,  if  we  carefully  con- 
sider the  following  noble  rapture,  which  the  apostle  Paul, 
inspired  with  holy  joy,  uttered,  in  the  begiiming  of  his  epistle 
to  the  saints  at  Ephesus;  "Blessed  be  God,  the  Father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  has  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  bless- 
ings, in  heavenly  things  in  Christ,  according  as  he  has  chosen 

*  See  especially  the  learned  Mr.  Ridgley's  body  of  Divinity,  vol.  i.  p.  236.  col, 
2.  240.  col.  1. 

t  See  the  same  useful  work;  p.  277,  col.  2.  231.  col.  2. 

54 


426         OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GRACE, 

US  in  him,  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  that  we  should 
be  holy  and  without  blame  before  him  in  love,  having  pre- 
destinated us  to  the  adoption  of  children  by  Jesus  Christ  to 
himself,  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  his  will,  to  the  praise 
of  the  glory  of  his  grace;  by  which  he  has  made  us  accepted 
in  the  beloved,  in  whom  we  have  redemption  through  his  blood, 
and  the  forgiveness  of  sins ;  in  whom  also  we  have  obtained 
an  inheritance,  being  predestinated,  according  to  the  purpose  of 
him,  who  works  all  things  according  to  the  counsel  of  his  will, 
that  we  should  be  to  the  praise  of  his  glory,  who  have  trusted 
in  Christ,"  Eph.  i.  3 — 7.  11, 12.  Nothing  can  be  more  express 
than  this  admirable  passage,  to  prove  the  absolute  freeness  of 
election  and  predestination:  it  is  expressly  asserted,  that  we  are 
chosen  by  God  in  Christ,  and  predestinated  to  the  adoption  of 
children,  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  his  will ;  nay,  his 
sovereign  pleasure;  for  it  is  according  to  the  counsel  of  him 
that  works  all  things,  or  certainly  and  infallibly  brings  all  things 
about,  after  the  purpose  of  his  will;  we  are  chosen  in  Christ, 
and  are  pre-ordained  to  the  privilege  of  a  change  of  state  by 
adoption,  which  is  merited  and  purchased  for  us  by  Christ. 
Now,  the  end  of  God,  in  choosing  us,  and  predestinating  us  to 
the  grace  of  adoption,  was,  that  we  might  be  holy  and  without 
blame  before  him  in  love ;  and  that  we  might  be  to  the  praise 
and  the  glory  of  his  grace.  The  end  of  God's  choosing  us  was, 
that  we  might  be  holy ;  and  does  his  act  in  electing  us,  give  us 
a  liberty  to  frustrate,  as  far  as  in  us  lies,  the  end  of  his  choice  ? 
Certainly  every  one,  who  would  show  himself  to  be  the  elect 
of  God,  ought  to  comply  with  the  end,  which  he  had  in  view, 
in  choosing  him  to  honour,  glory,  and  immortality.  What  God 
has  joined  together,  let  not  vain  man  pretend  to  separate  ;  and, 
indeed,  it  will  never  be  separated,  by  those  who  are  really  the 
subjects  of  electing  love ;  otherwise  we  must  allow,  that  God 
has  purposed  something  in  vain,  which  is  a  thought  too  shocking 
and  blasphemous  to  be  admitted,  concerning  a  Being  of  infinite 
wisdom  and  power.  Our  obligation  to  holiness  is  not  weakened, 
but  strengthened,  by  considering  that  those  whom  God,  out  of  his 
sovereign  pleasure,  chose  and  ordained  to  life,  he  also  designed 
should  be  holy.  Accordingly  it  is  matter  of  fact,  that  the  gene- 
rality of  such  as  have  embraced  the  doctrine  of  absolute  elec- 
tion, have  been  most  exemplary  in  their  walk,  being  sensible 
that  they  ought  to  comply  with  the  end  of  God,  as  well  as  enjoy 
the  privileges  he  has  laid  out  for  them ;  whereas  too  many  of 
those,  who  would  be  for  tying  God's  choice  to  their  foreseen 
faith  and  good  works,  as  conditions  movhig  him  thereto,  take 
care,  by  their  want  of  faith,  and  neglect  of  good  works,  to  show, 
that  they  either  are  not  of  the  number  of  God's  elect,  or  have 
not  yet  felt  the  blessed  effects  of  it.  A  frothy  temper  of  mind, 
with  respect  to  things  sacred,  and  an  unwary  conversation, 


AS   IT  ENCOURAGES   HOLINESS.  427 

have  too  commonly  been  the  scandalous  badges  of  such,  as 
must  needs  have  it,  that  they  are  chosen  by  God,  for  foreseen 
faith  and  holiness,  and  have  been  the  most  eager  to  prate 
against  the  true  Scripture  doctrine  of  absolute  election,  with 
lying  and  malicious  words,  by  representing  it  as  calculated  to 
promote  looseness  of  life. 

It  must,  indeed,  be  owned  that  some  profane  sinners  have 
abused  this  doctrine,  and  have  broken  in  upon  the  connexion 
that  there  is  between  the  initial  parts,  and  the  sure  marks  of 
salvation  in  this  life,  and  the  completion  of  it  in  the  life  of  glory. 
But,  whatever  unruly  sinners  may  imagine,  the  end  will  never 
be  bestowed,  where  the  means  appointed  to  bring  about  that 
end,  nay,  which  are  the  beginning  of  what  is  to  be  brought  to 
an  end,  are  entirely  thrown  aside.  Therefore  it  is  mere  rant 
for  a  hair-brained  sinner  to  say,  if  I  am  elected  to  salvation,  I 
shall  be  saved,  let  me  live  as  I  list;  if  I  am  a  chosen  vessel,  sin 
shall  not  hinder  my  happiness.  This  is  nothing  but  rumbling 
talk;  it  is  no  better  sense  than  if  a  man  should  say,  if  I  am 
elected,  I  shall  be  saved,  though  I  should  never  be  brought  into 
a  state  of  salvation;  or,  I  shall  be  saved,  without  salvation; 
only  in  this  last  way  of  speaking,  the  nonsense  is  so  apparent, 
that  it  strikes  even  upon  the  most  dull  apprehension.  Suppos- 
ing a  man  was  to  break  a  limb,  and  should  refuse  to  have  it 
set,  and  was  gravely  to  argue,  that  his  times  are  in  God's 
hand,  and  that  if  it  is  determined  he  shall  live  without  being 
lame,  it  shall  certainly  be  so  with  him,  though  he  uses  no 
means ;  or  supposing  a  man  was  to  be  ready  to  famish  for 
hunger,  and  was  burnt  up  with  thirst,  if  he  should  say,  that  if 
he  is  to  live  strong,  and  in  health,  he  assuredly  will,  whether 
he  takes  sustenance  or  not;  supposing  such  cases,  should  we 
not  reckon  persons,  who  thus  chatter,  to  be  directly  mad,  or  to 
be  mere  idiots?  Certainly  we  should,  when  yet  they  speak 
only  with  reference  to  the  comforts  of  this  life.  Surely  then  it 
is  worse  than  mad,  because  the  matter  is  of  vastly  greater  im- 
portance than  the  case  of  this  natural  life,  for  any  to  pretend, 
that  as  eternal  life  is  the  gift  of  electing  love,  it  can  be  obtained 
without  the  use  of  the  means  which  God  has  determined  should 
be  used,  and  without  the  grace  he  actually  works  in  all  that  he 
saves.  Without  holiness,  there  is  no  proof  of  election,  therefore 
absolute  election  does  not  lessen  our  regards  to  holiness.  If 
persons  say  they  are  elected,  let  them  prove  they  are  partakers 
of  the  blessings  which  result  from  the  grace  of  election  by  a 
holy  life;  for  all  that  are  chosen  by  God  to  salvation,  are  sancti- 
fied by  the  Holy  Spirit.  Whoever  draws  this  absurd  conse- 
quence, that  if  he  is  elected,  he  shall  be  saved,  though  he  does 
as  he  will,  gives  the  greatest  ground  to  suspect  that  he  never 
experienced  the  love  of  God;  and  if  he  belongs  to  the  election 
of  grace,  when  he  is  actually  gathered  in,  he  will  have  very 


428  OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GRACE, 

different  thoughts,  and  will  be  filled  with  shame  and  humili- 
ation for  having  done  any  thing  to  disgrace  such  a  holy 
doctrine. 

If  we  will  not  presumptuously  deny  what  is  laid  down  in  the 
oracles  of  truth,  we  must  be  as  strenuous  to  maintain  that  God 
chose  his  people  to  holiness,  as  we  should  be  to  stand  up  for 
the  notion  of  election  being  only  from  his  sovereign  grace;  and 
then,  as  we  shall  not  make  the  purpose  of  the  unchangeable 
God  depend  on  the  mutable  will  of  frail  men,  so  we  shall  never 
weaken  the  obligations  we  are  under  to  be  holy,  by  maintain- 
ing absolute  election.  We  are,  in  compliance  to  God's  end,  to 
practise  holiness;  and  so  we  have  a  further  obligation  added  to 
that  which  lies  upon  us  as  creatures,  to  do  whatever  is  by  any 
means  made  known  to  us  to  be  the  will  of  our  Maker  and  kind 
Preserver.  The  far  greater  number  of  those  who  have  declared 
their  faith,  with  relation  to  the  great  doctrine  of  particular  and 
absolute  election,  have  sufliciently  guarded  against  all  abuse  of 
it;  yet  it  has  always  been  vilified  by  such  as  do  not  care  to  be 
wholly  indebted  to  God  for  salvation;  nothing  can  be  more  un- 
righteous than  their  charge  against  us;  and  their  injustice  is  the 
more  highly  aggravated,  because  they  either  know,  or  might 
know,  that  it  is  entirely  groundless.  Whether  they  are  so  wicked, 
as  knowingly  and  maliciously  to  misrepresent  our  tenets,  or  whe- 
ther they  are  so  foolish  as  to  speak  evil  of  our  principles,  with- 
out understanding  them,  is  hard  to  determine. 

2.  The  doctrine  of  free  justification  by  the  righteousness  of 
Christ,  imputed  and  received  by  faith,  does  not  tend  to  promote 
licentiousness;  because  all  who  look  to  him  as  a  Priest,  dying 
for  sin,  and  trust  in  his  merit  for  acceptance  with  God,  receive 
him  in  all  his  offices;  and  so  obey  him  as  a  Projjhet,  and  sub- 
mit to  him  as  a  King. 

Sinners  can  never  appease  the  anger  of  God,  by  what  they 
can  perform;  because  all  their  duties  are  what  they  ov/e  to 
God,  as  they  are  his  creatures;  and  so  the  being  found  in  them, 
is  no  more  than  paying  a  just  debt,  and  cannot  atone  for  the 
omission  of  what  they  are  obliged  to  do.  It  was  great  good- 
ness in  God,  when  sinners  could  not  answer  for  themselves,  to 
appoint  a  Saviour  to  undertake  for  them,  who,  by  fulfilling  the 
precept  of  the  law,  and  suflering  the  penalty  which  it  inflicted, 
in  case  of  disobedience,  could  atone  for  sin,  or  make  propitia- 
tion for  guilt,  satisfy  justice,  appease  the  divine  anger,  magnify 
the  law,  and  make  it  honourable,  and  bring  in  an  everlasting 
righteousness,  of  infinite  value,  which  might  not  only  free 
from  condemnation,  but  might  give  a  right  and  title  to  the 
glory  of  heaven:  and  it  is  rich  grace  in  God,  to  impute  the 
righteousness  of  a  Redeemer  to  us,  that  we  may  stand  before 
him  without  shame  and  blushing.  There  can  nothing  be  just- 
ly deduced  from  this,  that  can  weaken  the  obligations  men  are 


AS   IT  ENCOURAGES   HOLINESS.  429 

under  to  obey  the  law;  certainly  they  are  not  exempted  from 
observing  it,  as  a  rule  of  life,  because  they  are  delivered  from 
the  curse  of  it,  as  a  broken  covenant  of  works. 

Justification,  in  the  sight  of  God,  is  for  the  sake  of  Christ's 
active  and  passive  obedience,  imputed  to  a  sinner,  and  received 
by  faith;  which  is  not  from  himself,  but  is  the  gift  of  God,  and 
is  bestowed  upon  him,  and  wrought  in  his  heart,  whenever 
the  merit  of  the  Redeemer  is  applied  to  him.  Faith,  which  is 
created  in  the  soul  of  every  one  who  is  brought  to  live  in 
Christ,  and  to  be  under  him,  as  a  head  of  righteousness,  as  it  is 
made  use  of,  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  justification,  is  wholly  and 
only  employed,  in  looking  to  Christ  as  a  priest,  dying  for  sin, 
and  in  trusting  in  the  merit  of  his  sacrifice,  and  which  he  olfer- 
ed  up:  it  looks  to  Christ  as  satisfying  justice,  answering  the 
demands  of  the  law,  as  a  covenant  of  works,  and  suffering 
death :  it  regards  him  as  the  only  priest,  deputed  and  appointed 
by  God  to  save  sinners,  and  as  the  only  one  who  can  carry 
away  sin,  and  can  appease  God,  by  bearing  the  weight  of 
infinite  wrath;  it  respects  Christ  as  an  infinite  person,  one  of 
almighty  power,  to  go  through  what  he  undertook,  and  of 
boundless  merit,  to  procure  everlasting  happiness;  it  beholds 
him  in  his  bloody  death,  and  in  his  exquisite  sufferings,  as 
enduring  the  utmost  shame,  and  the  most  acute  pain,  in  his 
body,  and  as  suffering  inexpressible  torments  in  his  soul;  it  flies 
to  him  for  refuge,  from  the  tempest  of  divine  indignation;  it 
receives  him  as  the  only  Saviour;  and  it  rests  and  relies  upon 
him,  for  the  free  and  full  forgiveness  of  sin,  for  deliverance 
from  condemnation,  for  justification  before  God  and  acceptance 
in  his  sight,  and  for  a  right  and  title  to  the  favour  of  the  Most 
High,  and  to  eternal  life.  This  is  the  work  of  faith,  as  it  is 
employed  in  justification;  but  the  enemies  of  this  doctrine  know 
well  enough,  that  they  who  are  advocates  for  the  infinite  merit 
of  Christ  being  the  sole  cause  of  a  sinner's  deliverance  from 
misery,  and  his  being  found  by  God  in  peace,  maintain,  that 
though  faith,  as  it  is  used  in  justification,  is  only  employed  in 
looking  to,  and  trusting  in  Christ  as  a  priest,  dying  for  sin,  yet, 
with  different  views,  it  receives  Christ  in  his  other  offices:  it 
receives  him  as  a  prophet,  for  it  assents  to  the  truth  of  all  the 
glorious  doctrines  which  he  has  revealed;  and  it  relies  on  him 
for  spiritual  illumination,  to  know  more  of  God's  will,  about 
the  duties  which  are  to  be  performed  by  all  who  profess  him :  it 
likewise  receives  him  as  a  king,  for  it  submits  to  his  authority, 
and  obeys  his  commands;  it  follows  him  as  he  is  the  Captain 
of  salvation,  and  it  chooses  him  as  a  Sovereign,  to  rule  in  the 
heart,  to  subdue  lust,  and  to  rout  the  armies  of  indwelling  cor- 
ruption. Faith  relies  on  Christ  as  a  Priest,  for  justification  and 
acceptance  with  God;  but  though  this  is  one  prime  part  of  its 
work,  yet  this  does  not  take  in  the  whole  notion  of  that  grace; 


430         OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GRACE, 

it  depends  upon  Christ  as  the  great  Prophet,  who  can  make 
wise  to  salvation,  and  can  lead  his  people  into  the  knowledge 
of  all  truth,  and  can  impress  their  hearts  with  a  lively  belief  of 
what  he  is  pleased  to  discover;  and  it  trusts  in  him,  as  an  exalt- 
ed Saviour  and  a  King,  for  strength,  to  be  steadfast  in  the  belief 
of  the  great  truths  revealed  in  Scripture,  and  to  be  zealous  in 
the  defence  of  them,  for  power  to  practise  holiness,  to  proceed 
in  the  paths  of  piety,  to  renew  repentance,  and  to  engage  in  the 
great  duties  of  mortification  and  self-denial;  and  for  might  to 
struggle  against  indwelling  siri,  to  overcome  the  alluring  temp- 
tations and  the  evils  of  the  world,  and  to  maintain  a  continued 
conflict  against  the  powers  of  darkness.  Though  faith,  as  made 
use  of  in  justification,  does  not  do  all  this,  yet  this  is  the  faith 
which  is  wrought  in  the  hearts  of  all  who  are  justified  freely 
by  grace,  through  the  redemption  purchased  by  Christ;  and 
will  any  be  so  hardy,  or  so  foolish,  as  to  say,  that  this  promotes 
licentiousness?  Far  otherwise;  it  brings  a  man  to  submit  to 
Christ's  institutions,  and  to  rely  on  him  for  aid  to  perform  them 
better  than  he  can  by  his  own  power. 

It  was  the  design  of  Christ  to  take  away  the  curse  of  the  law, 
as  it  is  a  broken  covenant  of  works,  by  becoming  a  curse  for 
us,  and  by  bearing,  in  our  stead,  all  that  punishment  which  the 
law  denounced  against  us;  but  it  never  was  his  purpose  to 
abrogate  the  law,  as  it  is  a  rule  of  life;  but  rather  to  bring  us  to 
be  more  conformable  to  it,  as  it  is  a  transcript  of  the  holiness  of 
God.  Seeing  the  case  is  thus,  we  may  take  up  the  words  of 
the  apostle  Paul,  and  may  say  after  him:  "Do  we  then  make 
void  the  law  through  faith?  God  forbid;  we  rather  establish 
the  law,"  Rom.  iii.  31.  Though  we  ascribe  justification  to  the 
righteousness  of  Christ,  yet  we  leave  to  the  law  all  the  honour 
that  belongs  to  it,  as  a  rule  of  life:  we  own,  that  "  we  are  not 
without  law  to  God,  but  that  we  are  under  the  law  to  Christ," 
1  Cor.  ix.  21.  When  we  trust  in  Christ  as  a  Surety,  we  look 
upon  ourselves  as  under  the  highest  obligation  to  obey  him 
as  our  Sovereign ;  and  when  he  reigns  over  us  as  a  King,  he 
gives  us  strength  for  obedience,  and  sends  us  to  the  law,  as  the 
rule  of  our  conversation.  We  start  at  the  thought  of  saying,  as 
some  do,  that  the  law  is  of  no  use  to  believers,  for  it  is  of  use, 
as  a  rule;  and  we  dare  not  say,  with  others,  that  the  moral  law 
is  repealed,  and  that  God  has  placed  the  gospel  in  its  room,  as 
a  new  remedial  law  of  grace,  requiring  faith,  repentance,  and 
sincere  obedience,  in  the  room  of  perfect  righteousness ;  we 
cannot  be  pleased  with  such  hideous  and  blemishing  fictions 
concerning  God,  as  represent  him  as  abrogating  a  law  that  was 
perfect,  and  framing  another  instead  of  it,  that  admits  of  imper- 
fect, though  sincere  obedience,  as  a  condition  of  justification. 
Far,  very  far,  be  such  thoughts  from  us,  which  reproach  the 
faithfulness,  holiness,  and  wisdom  of  God:  one  end  he  had  in 


AS   IT   ENCOURAGES   HOLINESS.  431 

saving  us  by  Christ  was,  "to  magnify  his  law,  and  make  it 
honourable :"  and  if  we  are  of  those  who  are  saved  by  Christ, 
we  shall  desire  to  comply  with  God,  in  this,  as  well  as  in  all  his 
other  designs. 

If  any  have  been  so  silly  as  to  attempt  to  advance  faith,  by 
disparaging  good  works,  they  are  to  answer  for  their  profane- 
ness  and  folly:  the  gospel  account  of  faith  gives  no  encourage- 
ment for  any  to  do  so.  The  Scripture  supposes,  that  good 
works  are  as  necessary  to  justify  and  show  the  sincerity  of  our 
faith  before  men,  as  faith  in  the  righteousness  of  Christ  is 
necessary  in  our  justification  before  God.  Hence  the  apostle 
James  said,  "  Faith  without  works  is  dead,  being  alone;  a  man 
may  say.  Thou  hast  faith,  and  I  have  works;  show  me  thy 
faith  without  thy  works,  and  I  will  show  thee  my  faith  by  my 
works:  thou  believest  that  there  is  one  God,  thou  dost  well, 
the  devils  believe  and  tremble ;  but  wilt  thou  know,  0  vain 
man,  that  faith  without  works  is  dead?"  James  ii.  17 — 20.  If 
a  man  omits  to  perform  those  duties,  which  he  owes  to  God  and 
his  neighbour,  under  the  pretence  of  being  justified  by  faith 
alone,  he  shows,  that  he  has  no  more  than  a  very  imperfect 
notion  of  faith  in  Christ,  and  that  what  he  does  know  of  it,  he 
perverts  from  its  true  design;  unless  a  man  evidences  the  sin- 
cerity of  his  faith  by  his  works,  all  his  faith  is  no  more  than 
that  traditional  historical  faith,  which  is  in  the  devils;  and  all 
the  great  things  he  says  of  it,  are  no  more,  as  to  himself,  than 
mere  sounds,  and  a  bare  noise.  Though  we  are  not  justified 
by  the  works  of  the  law,  we  must  show  the  sincerity  of  our 
trust  in  the  merit  of  that  sacrifice,  which  Christ  offered  up  for 
us,  as  the  great  High-priest  of  our  profession,  by  our  submitting 
to  his  righteous  sceptre,  as  our  King,  and  by  our  taking  the  law 
for  the  rule  of  our  lives  and  actions.  If  so,  the  doctrine  of  jus- 
tification, by  the  imputed  righteousness  of  Christ,  without 
works,  does  not  suppose  good  works  needless  ;  seeing  they  are 
absolutely  necessary,  as  evidences,  though  not  as  conditions  of 
justification. 

3.  The  evangelical  doctrines  of  believers  being  renewed  by 
the  efficacious  power  and  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  of  their 
being  kept  by  Christ  from  failing,  and  enabled  by  him  to  per- 
severe to  the  end,  and  of  their  being  favoured  sometimes  with 
the  assurance  of  the  love  of  God,  do  not  lead  to  licentiousness; 
because,  in  the  very  nature  of  the  things,  it  is  supposed  they 
are  new  created  to  holiness,  that  they  are  enabled,  by  strength 
received  by  Christ,  to  go  on  in  the  paths  of  godliness,  and  that 
without  holiness  they  cannot  see  the  Lord,  either  by  the  light  of 
faith  here,  for  their  comfort,  or  in  the  light  of  glory  hereafter, 
for  their  exceeding  joy. 

If  we  will  believe  Christ,  the  true  and  faithful  Witness,  sin- 
ners must  be  born  again  before  they  can  be  admitted  into  the 


432         OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GRACE, 

promise  of  God,  in  the  world  of  peace  and  rest:  he  thus  posi 
lively  declared  to  Nicodemiis,  John  iii.  3,  5.  "I  solemnly 
assure  thee,  except  a  man  is  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the 
kingdom  of  God;  except  a  man  is  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit, 
he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God."  Regeneration  is  a 
real  change,  wrought  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  all 
the  faculties  of  the  soul,  from  sin  to  holiness,  from  practising 
according  to  the  dictates  of  corrupt  nature,  to  act  out  of  a  prin- 
ciple of  faith  and  love  to  God,  and  from  gratifying  the  will  of 
the  flesh,  to  pursue  after  the  advancement  of  God's  glory.  It 
may  be  said  to  difler  from  conversion;*  the  new  birth  is  a  spir- 

*  I  do  not  know  any  writer  who  has  better  stated  this  matter,  than  that  great 
and  judicious  divine,  Mr.  Cliarnock  :  him  I  have  chosen  to  follow,  taking  a  liberty 
to  use  some  of  his  expressions.  His  own  words  I  shall  here  give,  (see  his  Works, 
vol.  ii.  p.  70—72,  first  edition.) 

"  Regeneration  differs  from  conversion :  regeneration  is  a  spiritual  change,  con- 
version  is  a  spiritual  motion :  in  regeneration  there  is  a  power  conferred ;  con- 
version is  the  exercise  of  this  power  :  in  regeneration  there  is  given  us  a  principle 
to  turn,  conversion  is  our  actual  turning;  that  is,  the  principle  whereby  we  are 
brouglit  out  of  a  state  of  nature,  into  a  state  of  grace  and  conversion,  the  actual 
fixing  on  God,  as  the  terminus  ad  quern;  one  gives  posse  agere ;  and  the  other, 
actii  agere, 

1.  Conversion  is  related  to  regeneration,  as  the  effect  to  the  cause:  life  pre- 
cedes motion,  and  is  the  cause  of  motion.  In  the  covenant,  the  new  heart,  the 
new  spirit,  and  God''s  putting  his  Spirit  into  them,  is  distinguished  from  their 
walking  in  his  statutes,  (Ezek.  xxxvi.  27,)  from  the  first  step  we  take  in  tlie  way 
of  God,  and  is  set  down  as  the  cause  of  our  motion  ;  I  will  cause  you  to  walk  in  my 
statutes.  In  renewing  us,  God  gives  us  power ;  in  converting  us,  he  excites  that 
power.  Men  are  naturally  dead,  and  have  a  stone  upon  them ;  regeneration  is  a 
rolling  away  the  stone  from  the  heart,  and  a  raising  to  newness  of  life ;  and  then 
conversion  is  as  natural  to  a  regenerate  man,  as  motion  is  to  a  living  body ;  a 
principle  of  activity  will  produce  action. 

2.  In  regeneration,  man  is  wholly  passive ;  in  conversion,  he  is  active :  as  a 
child,  in  its  first  formation  in  the  womb,  contributes  nothing  to  the  first  infusion 
of  life,  but  after  it  has  life,  it  is  active,  and  its  motion  natural.  The  first  reviving 
of  us  is  wholly  the  act  of  God,  without  any  concurrence  of  the  creature;  but  after 
we  are  revived,  we  actively  and  voluntarily  live  in  his  sight :  "  He  will  revive  us, 
he  will  raise  us  up,  and  then  we  shall  live  in  his  sight ;  then  we  shall  walk  before 
him,  and  then  we  shall  follow  on  to  know  the  Lord,"  Hosea  vi.  2.  Regeneration 
is  the  motion  of  God  in  the  creature ;  conversion  is  the  motion  of  the  creature  to 
God,  by  virtue  of  that  first  principle:  from  this  principle,  all  the  acts  of  believing, 
repenting,  mortifying,  quickening,  spring  :  in  all  these,  a  man  is  active  :  in  the 
other,  he  is  utterly  passive;  all  these  are  the  acts  of  the  will,  by  the  assisting  grace 
of  God,  after  the  infusion  of  the  first  grace :  conversion  is  a  giving  ourselves  to  the 
Lord ;  giving  ourselves  to  the  Lord,  is  a  voluntary  act,  but  the  power  whereby  we 
are  enabled  thus  to  give  ourselves,  is  wholly  and  purely,  in  every  part  of  it,  from 
the  Lord  himself.  A  renewed  man  is  said  to  be  led  by  the  Spirit,  Rom.  viii.  14, 
not  dragged,  not  forced :  the  putting  a  bias  and  aptitude  in  the  will,  is  the  work 
of  the  Spirit  quickening  it ;  but  the  moving  the  will  to  God,  by  tlie  strength  of  this 
bias,  is  voluntary,  and  the  act  of  the  creature. — Tlie  day  of  regeneration  is  solely 
the  day  of  God''s  power,  wlierein  he  makes  ?nen  willing  to  turn  to  him,  Psal.  ex.  3. 
So  that  though,  in  actual  conversion,  the  creature  is  active,  it  is  not  from  the 
power  of  man,  though  it  is  from  a  power  in  man ;  not  growing  up  from  the  impo- 
tent root  of  nature,  but  settled  there  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 

Regeneration  differs  from  sanctification  ;  habitual  sanctification,  indeed,  is  the 
same  thing  with  this  new  creature,  as  habitual  rectitude  was  the  spiritual  life  of 
Adam ;  but  actual  sanctification,  and  the  gradual  progress  of  it,  grows  from  tliis 
principle  as  a  root.     Faith  purifies  the  heart,  (Acts  xv.  9,  purifying  their  hearts  by 


AS   IT   ENCOURAGES   HOLINESS.  433 

itual  change;  in  it  there  is  a  power  to  act  spiritually  conferred, 
and  a  principle  to  turn  from  sin  infused :  conversion  is  a  spir- 
itual motion,  it  is  the  exercise  of,  or  putting  into  act  the  power 
received,  and  it  is  our  actual  turning.  Conversion  is  the  effect 
of  the  Spirit's  new-creation  work,  for  life  precedes  motion,  and 
is  the  cause  of  it.  All  men,  by  nature,  lie  buried  in  the  grave 
of  sin;  when  they  are  regenerated,  the  stone  is  rolled  away 
from  the  grave's  mouth,  and  they  are  by  the  almighty,  and 
consequently  irresistible,  power  of  the  Spirit,  raised  to  newness 
of  life ;  and  when  they  are  made  alive,  conversion  is  natural  to 
them,  as  motion  is  to  a  living  body.  In  regeneration,  man  is 
entirely  passive ;  in  conversion  he  is  made  active.  The  day 
of  the  new  birth,  is  the  time  of  the  Spirit's  power  being  exerted 
on  men,  to  make  them  willing  to  turn  from  sin  to  holiness;  and 
therefore,  though,  in  conversion,  the  renewed  soul  is  active, 
yet  this  is  not  from  its  natural  power,  but  from  a  supernatural 
power  put  forth  in  it,  and  upon  it:  this  power  of  acting  is  not 
a  plant  in  nature's  garden,  neither  does  it  spring  from  the  impo- 
tent root  of  the  carnal  will,  but  it  is  planted  in  the  soul  by  the 
Spirit's  hand,  and  is  settled  in  the  will,  by  him  whose  office  it 
is,  to  renew  the  elect  of  God.  Regeneration  likewise  differs 
from  sanctification ;  not,  indeed,  from  it,  as  it  may  be  said  to  be 
habitual, but  as  it  may  be  styled  actual  sanctification;  for  that 
considered  as  gradually  progressive,  grows  from  the  new  birth, 
as  its  root. 

If  we  duly  weigh  this  account  of  the  work  of  grace  in  the  soul 
of  man,  we  shall  see  no  reason  to  think  that  man  is  left  at  liberty 
to  fulfil  the  will  of  the  flesh,  because  he  is  new-formed  by  the 
irresistible  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  must  be  said  to  be 
passive  in  the  new  birth,  but  what  does  this  great  change  pass 
upon  him  for?  That  he  may  be  active,  and  show  that  he  is  raised 
from  a  death  in  sin,  by  his  living  a  life  of  holiness.  It  would  be 
very  irrational,  and  what  would  be  hissed  at,  if  any  were  to 
suggest,  that  a  child's  not  contributing  to  his  living,  but  being 
wholly  indebted  to  God's  creating  power  for  it,  is  a  hinderance 
to  his  performing  the  functions  of  natural  life;  and  it  is  full  as 
ridiculous  to  say,  that  a  sinner's  doing  nothing  towards  new 
forming  himself,  but  owing  his  new  birth  to  the  Holy  Spirit's 
efficiency,  is  an  impediment  to  his  putting  forth  the  subsequent 
acts  of  the  spiritual  life. 

faith)  and  is  the  cause  of  this  gradual  sanctification;  but  faith  is  part  of  this  new 
creature,  and  that  which  is  a  part,  cannot  be  the  cause  of  the  whole,  for  tlien  it 
would  be  the  cause  of  itself.  We  are  not  regenerated  by  faitJi,  though  we  are 
sanctified  by  faith ;  but  we  are  new-created  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  infusing  faith 
into  us.  Faith  produces  the  acts  of  grace,  but  not  the  habit  of  grace,  because  it 
is  of  itself  a  part  of  this  habit;  for  all  graces  are  but  one  in  the  habit  or  new  crea- 
ture ;  charity,  and  likewise  every  other  grace,  is  but  the  bubbling  up  of  a  pure 
heart,  and  a  good  conscience.  Regeneration  seems  to  be  the  life  of  this  gradual 
sanctification,  the  health  and  liveliness  of  the  soul." 

55 


434  OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GRACE, 

If  any  should  be  so  weak  as  to  say,  that  being  new-created  and 
regenerated  by  the  Spirit's  efficacious  operations,  being  turned 
by  his  almighty  power  from  darkness  to  hght,  and  from  sin  to 
hoHness,  and  being  sanctified  by  him,  has  a  tendency  to  check 
persons  in  making  a  progress  in  the  Christian  course,  it  must 
be  owned  to  be  a  mere  folly  to  go  about  to  argue  with,  and 
answer  such  a  person.  If  any  make  this  doctrine  a  handle  to 
be  lazy  and  indolent,  in  the  performance  of  what  is  good,  it  is 
a  sign  that  they  pretend  to  what  they  know  nothing  of.  Our 
spiritual  life  is  from  the  quickening  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  is  not  from  our  own  wills;  but  then  we  should  consider, 
that  we  are  not  raised  from  a  death  in  sin,  that  we  may  remain 
inactive,  and  we  are  not  made  alive  to  righteousness,  that  we 
may  indulge  idleness.  The  Spirit  enlightens  our  minds,  renews 
our  wills,  and  purifies  our  affections;  not  that  we  may  be  sloth- 
ful and  negligent,  but  that  we  may  "  be  fervent  in  spirit,  serv- 
ing the  Lord."  The  apostle  Paul's  advice  was  this ;  I  be- 
seech you,  brethren,  by  the  mercies  of  God,  that  you  present 
your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable  to  God,  and  be 
not  conformed  to  this  world,  but  be  transformed  by  the  renew- 
ing of  your  mind,  that  you  may  know  what  is  the  good,  the 
acceptable,  and  the  perfect  will  of  God.  Abhor  what  is  evil, 
cleave  to  what  is  good;  be  not  slothful  in  your  work,  but  be 
fervent  in  spirit,  serving  the  Lord,  Rom.  xii.  1,  2,  9,  10,  IL 
The  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  which  we  are  regenerated,  we 
say  is  efficacious,  irresistible,  and  not  to  be  frustrated:  now, 
can  it  be  thought  that  this  grace  is  bestowed,  that  we  may  con- 
tinue inactive,  as  to  what  is  good?  This  would  be  to  suppose 
it  efficacious,  without  accomplishing  its  design  ;  irresistible,  and 
yet  defeated;  not  to  be  frustrated,  and  yet  to  be  in  vain.  We 
are,  by  nature,  in  the  dark  grave  of  corruption,  and  we  can  no 
more  raise  ourselves,  and  bring  ourselves  into  the  light  than  a 
carcass,  which  has  lain  long  in  the  dormitories  of  the  earth, 
can  throw  off  the  clods  which  are  heaped  up  over  it,  or  unlock 
the  door  of  the  vault  that  contains  it;  and  we  are  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins,  and  can  no  more  put  forth  the  acts  of  a  new 
life,  than  the  shattered  parts  of  a  body  reduced  to  dust,  can  re- 
imite  and  regain  an  union  with  the  immortal  soul.  It  is  the 
Spirit,  who,  when  we  lie  buried  in  corruption,  and  are  dead  in 
sins,  quickens  us,  and  effectually  says,  Arise,  awake,  come 
forth,  and  shine,  for  Christ  will  give  you  life ;  and  his  end  in 
doing  this  is,  that  we  may  walk  as  children  of  the  light,  and 
may  act  wisely  and  circumspectly.  The  apostolic  doctrine 
was  as  follows;  "You  were  sometimes  darkness,  but  now  are 
you  light  in  the  Lord;  walk  as  children  of  the  light,  for  the 
fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  in  all  goodness,  righteousness,  and  truth, 
and  have  no  fellowship  with  the  unfruitful  works  of  darkness." 
It  is  said,  "  Wake  thou  that  sleepest,  and  rise  from  the  dead, 


AS   IT  ENCOURAGES   HOLINESS.  435 

and  Christ  shall  give  thee  life."  See  then  "  that  you  walk  cir- 
cumspectly, not  as  fools,  but  as  those  who  are  wise,  redeeming 
the  time,  because  the  days  are  evil,"  Eph.  v.  7 — 9,  11,  14 — 16. 
It  is  the  Spirit's  design  in  giving  us  life,  that  we  may  show  we 
are  alive,  by  acting  with  diligence,  caution,  wisdom,  and  cir- 
cumspection, in  avoiding  all  things  which  are  of  a  sinful  and 
mean  nature,  and  by  pursuing  after  those  things  which  are  good 
and  commendable;  so  that  the  doctrine  of  our  regeneration  and 
conversion  being  owing  to  his  efficacious  and  irresistible  grace, 
can  never  countenance  laziness  or  looseness. 

We  grow  in  grace,  and  persevere  by  virtue  of  strength  de- 
rived from  Christ.  He  who  was  truth  itself,  declared,  that 
without  his  aid,  we  can  never  proceed,  when  he  said  to  his 
disciples:  "  You  cannot  bear  fruit,  unless  you  abide  in  me:  I 
am  the  vine,  you  are  the  branches;  he  that  abides  in  me,  and  I 
in  him,  the  same  brings  forth  much  fruit,  for  without  me  you 
can  do  nothing,"  John  xv.  4,  5.  We  can  do  nothing  which  is 
good,  unless  we  derive  strength  from  Christ,  by  virtue  of  our 
union  with  him;  but  it  would  be  odd,  if  it  was  to  follow,  that 
we  must  do  nothing,  because  we  are  in  Christ,  and  are  upheld 
and  nourished  by  him.  We  must  wait  on  Christ,  or  trust  in 
him  for  persevering  vigour;  and,  if  we  expect  aid  from  him,  we 
must  be  in  a  watchful  posture;  then  it  will  be  with  us,  accord- 
ing to  what  is  promised  to  such  as  rely  on  Christ,  in  Isaiah's 
prophecy:  "The  youths  shall  faint,  and  be  weary;  and  the 
vigorous  young  men  shall  utterly  fail:  but  such  as  wait  upon 
the  Lord  shall  renew  their  strength;  they  shall  mount  up  with 
the  wings  of  eagles,  they  shall  run  and  not  be  weary,  they  shall 
walk  and  not  faint,"  Isa.  xl.  30,  31.  Such  as  depend  on  their 
own  strength,  shall  soon  faint  and  tire,  and  die,  if  they  are  left 
to  themselves;  but  such  as  wait  upon  Christ,  such  as  rely  upon 
his  power,  will  renew  their  strength.  When  they  do  this,  it  is 
not  that  they  may  lie  down  and  sleep  by  the  way,  but  that  they 
may  be  active  and  industrious  in  duty,  that  they  may  mount  up 
towards  heaven,  with  a  towering  sprightly  motion;  such  as  is 
that  of  the  lively  eagle  when  scorning  the  ground,  she  soars 
aloft;  that  they  may  run  in  the  paths  of  duty,  which  are  truly 
the  paths  of  honour,  without  being  weary,  or  being  obliged  to 
drop  for  want  of  spirits;  that  they  may  refresh  themselves  with 
continued  walks  within  the  sacred  inclosures  of  pure  religion, 
where  are  the  most  refined  pleasures,  without  being  faint,  or 
being  forced  to  sit  down  tired,  without  a  prospect  of  being  able 
to  recruit  their  vigour.  If  we  are  once  ingrafted  into  Christ, 
we  shall  go  on  in  his  strength,  in  the  way  of  holiness,  and  we 
shall  be  kept  by  his  power,  so  that  we  shall  never  totally  or 
finally  fall  from  grace;  of  this  he  himself  assured  us  when  he 
said,  "  My  sheep  hear  my  voice,  and  I  know  them,  and  they 
follow  me,  and  I  give  them  eternal  life,  and  they  shall  never 


436  OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GRACE, 

perish,  neither  shall  any  pluck  them  out  of  my  hand,"  John  x. 
27,  28.  This  does  not  excuse  us  from  keeping  up  a  constant 
watch  against  the  motions  of  indwelling  corruption,  and  the 
temptations  of  the  infernal  powers ;  for  if  we  lay  aside  our 
guard,  we  may  fall  into  sin,  and  so  provoke  our  beloved  and 
our  friend,  to  withdraw  himself  and  be  gone,  and  then  our  feet 
will  stumble  on  the  dark  mountains  of  desponding  thoughts  and 
distrusting  fears.  The  sure  encouragement  we  have  to  hope 
that  we  shall  be  kept  by  the  power  of  Christ,  through  faith  to 
complete  salvation,  is  far  from  giving  a  license  to  carelessness 
and  indolence;  we  may,  indeed,  wickedly  make  it  a  handle  for 
these;  but  then,  if  we  belong  to  God,  we  expose  ourselves  to 
the  smart  of  his  fatherly  rebukes.  Trust  in  Christ's  power,  is 
a  grace  of  an  active  nature;  and,  if  we  go  on  in  his  strength,  it 
must  be  in  a  way  of  holiness:  therefore  a  lively  faith,  instead 
of  making  us  lazy,  will  put  us  upon  being  "  steadfast,  immov- 
able, always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord;"  and  the 
more,  "because  we  know  that  our  labour  of  love  shall  never 
be  in  vain  in  the  Lord,"  1  Cor.  xv.  58. 

If  they  who  trust  in  Christ  for  righteousness  and  life,  are 
favoured  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  with  an  assurance  of  their  having 
a  share  in  the  love  of  the  Redeemer,  this  has  a  tendency  to 
make  them  more  fervent  and  active  in  true  obedience,  and  so 
does  not  promote  licentiousness.  Assurance  of  salvation  is  a 
deep  sense  and  a  lively  taste  of  the  divine  love,  joined  with  a 
firm  persuasion  of  Christ's  good  will  to  us,  whereby  we  are 
enabled  to  look  back  on  what  we  are  by  grace,  and  to  see  that 
God  is  our  Father,  that  Christ  is  our  Redeemer,  and  that  he 
will  save  us  with  an  everlasting  salvation:  this  presupposes 
faith,  and  cannot  be  without  it ;  but  it  is  not  essential  to  true 
faith  at  all  times,  but  it  is  bestowed  in  a  way  of  sovereignty. 
Assurance  is  from  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  in  giving  it  to  a  Chris- 
tian, he  affords  him  a  true  insight  into  the  treasures  of  the  grace 
of  God,  and  the  love  of  Christ;  he  enables  a  child  of  God  to 
plead  his  adoption,  with  a  filial  confidence;  for  we  are  told, 
Gal.  iv.  6,  that  because  we  are  sons,  God  has  sent  the  Spirit  of 
his  Son  into  our  hearts,  enabling  us  to  cry,  Abba,  Father:" 
he  witnesses  with  the  spirit  of  a  saint ;  for  we  are  informed, 
Rom.  viii.  16,  that  "the  Spirit  himself  bears  witness  with  our 
spirits,  that  we  are  the  children  of  God:"  and  he  seals  up,  to  a 
believer,  his  interest  in  the  love  of  God,  and  in  the  earnest  of 
the  heavenly  inheritance:  for  it  is  declared,  2  Cor.  i.  13,  14,  22. 
Eph.  iv.  30.  2  Cor.  v.  5,  that  "  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  is  the 
earnest  of  our  inheritance,  we  are  sealed  to  the  day  of  redemp- 
tion." The  assurance  of  salvation,  which  is  from  the  witness- 
ing and  sealing  of  the  Spirit,  makes  ns  more  holy.  It  cannot 
be  thought,  that  he  who  is  infinitely  pure,  will,  or  can  encour- 
age looseness;  where  he  takes  up  his  abode,  there  must  be  much 


AS   IT   ENCOURAGES   HOLINESS.  437 

faith  and  love,  humility  and  fear,  self-denial  and  uprightness, 
holiness  and  purity,  circumspection  and  watchfulness.  Sach 
therefore,  as  boast  of  assurance,  and  yet  can  take  their  swing 
in  sin,  are  only  vain  and  impudent  pretenders.  Assurance 
sets  the  Christian's  graces  in  a  clear  light,  and  checks  every 
thing  contrary  to  God;  and,  as  it  is  the  earnest  of  heaven,  it 
will  make  all  who  are  blessed  with  it  more  heavenly,  and 
consequently  more  holy.  When  it  is  thus  with  believers,  fer- 
vour and  vehemence,  zeal  and  courage,  love  and  patience,  will 
fill  their  breasts;  and,  inspired  with  heavenly  vigour,  they  will 
pass  on  from  strength  to  strength,  till  they  set  their  feet  on  the 
eternal  hills,  where  they  shall  know  faintness  and  weariness  no 
more.  The  Scripture  has  sufficiently  guarded  us  against  abus- 
ing the  gospel  doctrine  of  assurance.  The  apostle  Paul  has 
showed  us,  what  improvement  we  ought  to  make  of  assurance 
of  God's  love  in  the  following  passages,  Rom.  xiii.  11.  14. 
Eph.  iv.  29 — 32.  1  Cor.  xv.  58.  "Knowing  the  season,  that 
now  it  is  high  time  for  us  to  wake  out  of  sleep ;  for  now  is  our 
salvation  nearer  than  when  we  believed:  the  night  is  far  spent, 
the  day  is  at  hand ;  let  us,  therefore,  cast  off  the  works  of  dark- 
ness, and  let  us  put  on  the  armour  of  light;  let  us  walk  decently 
as  in  the  day,  not  in  revels  and  carousals,  not  in  sleep  and 
wantonness,  not  in  strife  and  envying;  but  put  you  on  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  make  no  carnal  provision  for  lusts  :  Let 
no  corrupt  word  come  out  of  your  mouth,  but  what  is  good,  to 
edify  profitably,  that  it  may  minister  grace  to  the  hearers  ;  and 
grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  by  whom  ye  are  sealed  to 
the  day  of  redemption :  let  all  bitterness  and  wrath,  and  anger 
and  clamour,  and  evil-speaking,  with  all  malice,  be  thrust  from 
you;  and  be  you  gentle  one  to  another,  tender-hearted,  and 
ready  to  do  acts  of  kindness,  as  God  in  Christ  has  been  gra- 
cious to  you.  Be  steadfast,  immovable,  and  always  abounding 
in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  seeing  you  know  that  your  labour  is 
not  in  vain  in  the  Lord."  The  great  apostle  John,  when  he 
had  spoken  of  the  hope  and  assurance  which  believers  have, 
that  when  they  come  to  be  for  ever  with  the  Lord,  they  shall 
possess  joys  ineffably  great,  and  pleasures  which  in  this  state 
of  imperfection  they  cannot  fully  know,  inferred,  that  they 
should  purify  themselves,  as  Christ  is  pure;  or  that  they  should 
strive  to  be  as  like  their  glorified  Head,  as  is  possible,  before 
they  put  off  the  body  of  sin  and  death :  his  words  are, "  Beloved, 
now  are  we  the  sons  of  God,  and  it  does  not  yet  appear  what 
we  shall  be;  but  we  know,  that  when  He  shall  appear,  we  shall 
be  like  him,  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is :  and  every  man  that 
hath  this  hope  in  him,  purifies  himself,  even  as  he  is  pure." 
We  must  judge  of  the  tendency  of  assurance  of  God's  love  by 
what  the  apostles  of  our  Lord  have  said  concerning  it,  who 
had  large  degrees  of  it ;  they  declared,  that  it  is  a  motive  to 


438  OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GR4CE, 

lioliness.  If  any  then  prate  about  their  assurance,  who  are  pre- 
sumptuous sinners,  we  must  look  upon  them  to  be  either  front- 
less  liars,  or  else  wild  giddy-headed  creatures,  who  take  the 
freaks  of  enthusiasm  to  be  the  Holy  Spirit's  motions. 

4.  Eternal  blessedness,  or  the  heavenly  glory,  is  the  gift  of 
grace,  and  the  reward  of  ChrisVs  death,  and  is  not  owing  to 
our  good  works,  either  in  the  whole  or  in  part :  but  this  does 
not  tend  to  promote  licentiousness,  because  "  without  holiness 
we  can  never  see  the  Lord/'*  or  have  a  meetness  and  fitness 
for  heaven. 

The  Scripture  has  required  us  to  follow  after  holiness,  and 
has  positively  declared,  that  without  it  we  can  never  see  the 
Lord.  The  apostle  Paul's  injunction  is  this,  Heb.  xiii.  14, 
"  Follow  holiness,  without  which  none  can  see  the  Lord.'^  In- 
deed, all  wicked  men  will  see  God  in  one  sense  ;  but  how  will 
it  be  ?  They  will  see  him  in  the  glittering  armour  of  his  justice, 
in  the  power  of  his  anger,  in  the  consuming  fire  of  his  indigna- 
tion, exalted  on  a  terrible  judgment-seat,  to  pass  sentence  upon 
them,  clothed  with  thunder,  and  wielding  a  sword  of  vengeance, 
to  cut  them  in  pieces :  this  will  be  a  sad  sight  of  him.  All 
unholy  persons  shall  see  God,  but  not  so  as  to  enjoy  any  good 
by  him;  a  cloud  of  thick  darkness  never  to  be  removed,  shall 
for  ever  interpose  between  them,  and  all  that  is  pleasing  and 
delightful  in  God ;  and  they  shall  see  nothing  of  him,  but  what 
will  be  matter  of  the  greatest  terror  to  them. 

Without  holiness,  no  one  can  have  a  well  grounded  hope  of 
heaven.  Heaven  is  the  inheritance  of  all  believers,  not  by  a 
natural  right  in  themselves,  but  by  God's  free  gift,  through 
Christ ;  but  though  it  is  a  free  gift  through  Christ,  yet  none  can 
conclude  he  has  a  title  to  it  without  holiness ;  or  say,  it  is  his, 
before  he  has  something  wrought  in  him  to  prove  it  so.  A  man 
must  have  some  ground  for  his  faith,  else  it  is  presumption ;  and 
he  must  have  some  reason  for  his  hope,  otherwise  it  is  ridicu- 
lous, and  a  mere  delusion.  There  is  no  taking  of  heaven  by 
force  for  sinners.  In  one  sense,  Mat.  xi.  12,  indeed,  there  is  a 
taking  of  heaven  by  violence  ;  holy  souls,  filled  with  zeal  and 
ardour,  and  inflamed  with  earnest  desires,  take  heaven  by 
force  ;  but  it  is  by  weapons  of  God's  providing:  they  win  their 
way,  but  it  is  by  Christ's  aid ;  and  they  do  marvellous  things, 
but  it  is  by  the  Holy  Spirit's  help  ;  and  they  reap  the  spoils  of 
the  victory,  which  the  Redeemer  has  obtained  for  them.  Un- 
holy men  can  never  scale  the  battlements  of  heaven,  for  they 
have  no  strength  of  their  own  to  do  it;  and  not  only  the  frown- 
ing cherub,  with  the  flaming  sword,  guards  the  avenues  to  it, 
but  an  angry  God  stands  their  irreconcilable  enemy,  to  keep 

*  The  reader  may  see  most  of  the  topics,  which  are  briefly  mentioned  under 
this  liead,  largely  insisted  on,  by  the  excellent  Mr.  Charnock,  on  the  necessity  of 
Regeneration,  p.  36 — 44,  in  the  second  volume  of  his  works. 


AS   IT  ENCOURAGES   HOLINESS.  439 

them  out.  Holiness  is  the  indeUble  character  which  Christ  sets 
upon  all  that  are  his;  without  this,  we  may  have  a  delusive 
irrational  hope  of  heaven,  but  it  will  greatly  injure  us,  and  can 
never  help  us.  A  false  hope  in  a  sinner  renders  all  admonitions 
unsuccessful;  and,  till  his  vain  confidence  is  shaken,  he  will  not 
believe  he  needs  conversion.  An  ill-grounded  hope  is  the  great 
engine  of  the  devil  to  destroy  souls,  and  it  is  worse  than  no 
expectation;  for  they  will,  of  all  men,  be  most  miserable,  who 
expect  to  be  saved,  and  yet,  when  the  breath  has  left  their 
bodies,  find  themselves  damned.  When  the  wicked  amuse 
themselves  with  vain  expectations,  the  arrow  of  death  strikes 
them  to  the  heart,  and  makes  an  end  of  them  before  it  is  feared, 
and  their  hope  is  disappointed  by  the  king  of  terrors.  They 
who  are  strangers  to  holiness,  have  but  few  thoughts  about 
their  eternal  state,  and  seldom  consider  what  will  become  of 
them  when  they  die;  and,  if  they  are  forced  to  hear  of  their 
mortality,  they  please  themselves  with  slight  apprehensions  of 
God,  as  a  Being  of  all  mercy:  but,  alas!  when  their  souls  go 
out  of  their  bodies,  the  devil,  who  is  the  harbinger  of  misery, 
will  drag  them  to  the  seats  of  darkness,  where  they  will  be  pri- 
soners without  hope  for  ever.  What  will  it  profit  men,  if  they 
fancy  they  shall  go  to  heaven,  if  they  wake,  after  they  have 
slept  the  sleep  of  death,  lying  in  the  bowels  of  hell,  with  sights 
of  wo  before  their  eyes,  and  inexpressible  horror  in  their 
minds?  None  should  say  they  hope  for  heaven,  if  they  are  not 
holy;  for  without  holiness  they  can  have  no  proof  of  their  title 
to  it. 

Except  we  are  made  holy,  we  have  no  meetness  for  the 
inheritance  which  is  undefiled  and  incorruptible.  We  shall 
never  be  admitted  to  set  one  foot  within  the  pure  realms  above, 
if  we  are  not  adorned  with  real  sanctity.  The  righteousness  of 
Christ  is  the  clothing  which  covers  our  defects;  and  the  gar- 
ments of  holiness,  which  are  put  upon  all  who  are  justified,  are 
the  array  which  beautifies  and  adorns  them :  when  this  attire 
is  put  on  here,  a  blessed  glorious  immortality  is  the  raiment  laid 
up  for  us,  in  the  wardrobe  of  heaven.  Death  itself,  as  it  is  a 
simple  disunion  of  the  soul  from  the  body,  is  not  extremely 
terrible  to  some  considerate  believers;  they  see  nothing  in  this 
world  to  court  their  stay,  or  to  monopolize  and  chain  their 
affections ;  and  they  behold  nothing  in  death,  as  it  is  merely  the 
pulling  down,  and  shattering  their  old  house,  to  deject  and  fill 
them  with  terror:  to  go  out  of  the  body  is  no  insuperable  diffi- 
culty to  them,  but  all  their  concern  is,  lest,  when  their  souls  are 
stripped  of  their  clayey  covering,  they  shall  be  found  unclothed; 
this,  at  times,  sinks  their  spirits,  and  awakes  their  fears.  The 
language  of  a  pious  soul  is  this;  "  I  am  not  unwilling  to  leave 
this  life,  and  to  be  absent  from  the  body;  but  I  am  not  without 
concern,  lest,  when  I  am  unclothed,  my  trembling  soul  should 


440  OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GRACE, 

be  found  naked,  and  without  a  covering."  We  must  be  ciotned 
with  the  spotless  robe  of  Christ's  righteousness;  and  we  must 
be  adorned  with  the  grace  of  sanctification,  otherwise  we  can 
never  enter  into  the  holy  place,  not  made  with  hands:  the  oil  of 
gladness  will  not  be  poured  into  our  souls,  unless  our  hearts  are 
first  seasoned  with  grace:  and  our  spirits  must  be  purified  from 
all  sinful  imperfections,  before  we  can  inherit  the  glory  of  that 
blessed  country,  where  there  will  be  no  place  for  what  is  imper- 
fect and  in  part. 

Without  holiness,  none  can  do  the  work  of  heaven,  or  perform 
the  duties  required  there.  One  part  of  the  work  of  heaven  is 
to  behold  the  glorious  face  of  God,  and  to  stand  continually 
before  him.  What  are  the  morning  stars,  and  the  spirits  of  just 
men  made  perfect,  doing  in  heaven?  Are  they  not  taken  up 
in  viewing  the  perfections  and  excellencies  of  God,  and  in 
admiring  his  attributes;  such  as  his  wisdom, power,  truth,  good- 
ness, and  especially  his  love  to  sinners.  But  what  could  unholy 
persons  do  there?  They  will  not  now  give  God  any  enter- 
tainment in  their  thoughts:  and,  as  they  have  no  intellectual 
eyes  to  behold  his  glory,  so  they  are  not  fit  to  come  into  his  pre- 
sence; they  are  neither  acquitted  from  their  guilt,  nor  cleansed 
from  their  pollution ;  how  then  can  they  stand  before  the  pure 
unspotted  Majesty  of  God,  who  cannot  look  upon  sin  without 
the  highest  indignation,  and  the  severest  hatred?  Praise  is 
a  principal  work  to  be  performed  in  the  happy  world  above; 
this  is  what  the  saints  offer  to  him  that  sits  upon  the  throne, 
and  to  the  Lamb  who  redeemed  sinners  by  his  blood,  with  the 
highest  strains  of  holy  rapture.  It  will  be  their  constant  work 
to  fall  down  before  the  throne,  and  to  sing  the  praises  of  the 
divine  persons,  with  the  most  raised  and  pure  affections;  and 
it  will  be  the  fulness  of  their  joy  to  sound  forth  hallelujahs  for 
ever.  Now,  men  void  of  holiness  have  no  inclination  to  praise 
the  Most  High;  can  they  rejoice  that  God  reigns,  and  has  a 
dominion  of  which  there  is  no  end,  when  they  are  only  set 
upon  rebellion  against  him  ?  Can  they  shout  for  joy,  that  he 
has  a  kingdom  that  cannot  be  shaken,  and  that  he  is  exalted 
above  all  things,  when  they  are  inclined  stubbornly  to  spurn 
at  his  authority  ?  Can  they  compass  his  royal  seat  with  songs 
of  melody,  when  they  would,  if  they  were  able,  thrust  him 
from  his  throne?  Can  they  follow  him  with  cheerful  accla- 
mations, when  they  are  for  setting  their  mouths  against  him? 
Can  they  extol  his  honour,  when  they  delight  to  reproach  his 
sacred  name  ?  It  would  be  against  all  sense  and  reason  to  say, 
that  without  holiness  any  could  compass  the  throne  of  God,  in 
heaven,  with  anthems  of  praise.  The  putting  forth  of  perfect 
love,  and  unconfined  affections  to  God,  is  a  work  of  heaven. 
The  apostle  Paul  has  told  us  thus,  1  Cor.  xiii.  8 — 10,  "Love 
never  fails;  as  to  other  things,  whether  they  are  prophecies, 


AS   IT   ENCOURAGES   HOLINESS.  441 

they  shall  fail;  or  tongues,  they  shall  cease;  or  knowledge,  it 
shall  vanish  away;  for  we  know  in  part,  and  we  prophesy  in 
part,  but  as  soon  as  that  which  is  perfect  shall  come,  what  is  in 
part  shall  be  done  away."  Prophecies,  or  gifts  of  explaining 
Scripture,  shall  fail ;  tongues,  or  an  ability  of  expressing  the 
inward  conceptions  of  the  mind,  in  different  languages,  shall 
cease;  and  the  knowledge  of  spiritual  things,  which  we  gather 
up  from  tedious  methods  of  reasoning,  and  by  framing  in  our 
minds  such  apprehensions  of  divine  truths,  as  hold  up  some 
analogy  to  sensible  objects,  shall  vanish  and  pass  away,  and 
give  place  to  what  is  clear,  easy,  certain,  and  void  of  all  mis- 
takes; but  love  to  God  never  fails,  it  will  continue  for  ever. 
What  is  this  love  in  its  perfection  but  the  gratitude  of  heavenly 
spirits  to  God,  their  benefactor,  who  is  superlatively  excellent, 
predominantly  sweet,  infinitely  blessed,  and  supremely  amiable 
in  himself?  This  love  of  souls  to  God  in  heaven,  is  without  all 
weakness,  mixtures,  damps,  and  pull-backs;  it  twists  and  binds 
them  to  God,  all  the  selfishness  of  their  wills  is  lost,  and  they 
are  entirely  resigned  to  his  will.  Now,  is  not  this  incompatible 
with  an  unholy  disposition?  Can  they  be  united  to  God,  who 
hate  him,  and  refuse  subjection  to  his  laws  all  the  time  they 
are  here?  Can  they  clasp  about  him,  as  the  chiefest  good 
hereafter,  who  prefer  the  very  dust  of  the  earth  before  him  in 
this  life?  Certainly  not;  none  can  act  any  grace,  in  its  perfec- 
tion, in  heaven,  which  he  has  not,  in  its  root  and  principle,  on 
earth;  every  grace  will  be  perfected  in  heaven,  but  no  new  grace 
is  begun  there.  Can  carnal  sinners  have  ardent  love  to  God, 
and  cleave  to  him  when  their  affections  are  set  against  him? 
Can  they  find  a  predominant  delight  in  him,  when  their  hatred 
against  him  is  blown  up  to  the  highest  pitch?  Can  they  have 
pleasure  in  his  holiness,  when  their  souls  are  full  of  burning 
lusts?  We  must  not  so  far  deny  our  reason,  as  to  say  that 
men  can  both  love  and  hate  God,  both  obey  and  oppose  him, 
both  find  sweetness  in  him  and  invidiously  rise  up  against  him, 
both  take  delight  in  his  holiness,  and  feel  pleasure  in  sin.  If 
men  have  no  satisfaction  in  meditating  on  God,  and  in  conver- 
sing with  him  in  their  thoughts,  now,  when  he  is  distant,  and 
removed  out  of  their  sight,  they  would  take  no  delight  in  him, 
if  they  were  brought  to  stand  before  the  presence  of  his  glory, 
and  to  behold  the  brightness  of  his  face  in  the  country  of  vision 
above. 

Without  holiness,  none  can  relish  the  enjoyments  of  heaven. 
A  corrupt  man,  with  a  sea  of  sin  rolling  and  tossing  in  his  breast, 
would  find  no  rest  or  pleasure  in  heaven,  if  we  could  suppose 
he  was  carried  thither.  He  would  find  no  sweetness  in  com- 
munion with  God,  who  is  the  source  of  all  the  happiness  enjoy- 
ed in  the  other  world.  It  is  the  presence  of  God  that  makes 
heaven  a  place  of  delight;  but  he  would  be  at  everlasting  vari- 

56 


442         OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OP  GRACE, 

ance  with  him.  One  who  is  not  sanctified,  could  never  suit 
himself  to  the  company  of  heaven;  he  would  find  no  joy  in  the 
society  of  saints  and  angels,  against  whom  he  has  the  greatest 
antipathy.  Were  he  admitted  into  heaven,  where  the  saints  sit 
with  their  wedding  garments  on,  as  they  would  be  a  burden  to 
him,  so  he  would  disturb  their  joys,  and  damp  that  cheerful  fire 
of  love,  which  flames  in  their  innocent  breasts.  The  impure 
sinner  cannot  be  regaled  with  the  perfect  pleasures  of  heaven, 
because  there  is  no  agreement  between  them  and  his  prevailing 
frame;  heaven  is  full  of  rational  and  sublime  delights,  but  none 
can  enjoy  them,  till  they  are  made  meet  for  them  by  sanctifica- 
tion.  Therefore  the  old  depraved  nature  must  be  done  away, 
or  else  men  must  be  for  ever  separated  from  God  himself;  they 
must,  without  possibility  of  admission,  be  shut  out  of  the  society 
of  saints  and  angels,  and  they  must  be  deprived  of  joys  substan- 
tial and  real.  God  will  not  leave  heaven  to  take  sinners  into  it; 
he  will  not  destroy  the  comfort  of  the  princes  of  light,  and  the 
spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  by  bringing  impure  creatures 
to  interrupt  their  sweet  fellowship ;  and  he  will  not  convert  the 
holy  recreations  of  the  upper  world  into  imperfection,  to  suit  the 
gust  of  sordid  transgressors.  If  these  things  are  duly  weighed, 
it  will  appear,  that  a  man  must  be  made  holy  before  he  can  see 
or  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God;  and  if  so,  then  there  is  no 
encouragement  given  to  licentiousness;  though  it  is  aifirmed, 
that  everlasting  blessedness  is  from  the  grace  of  God,  and  is  the 
reward  of  Christ's  obedience,  and  is  not  owing  to  the  holiness 
of  men. 

APPLICATION. 

We  see  that  the  glorious  doctrine  of  man's  salvation  being 
from  the  free  grace  of  God,  as  manifested  in  and  through  Christ, 
has  not  the  least  tendency  in  its  own  nature,  to  promote  loose- 
ness of  life ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  to  enforce  strictness  and 
holiness  in  the  conversation:  let  us  then,  if  we  assent  to  it,  be 
careful  not  to  abuse  it,  misrepresent  it,  or  pervert  it  from  its 
true  design  and  real  drift;  but  let  us  earnestly  endeavour  to  be 
a  credit  to  it,  and  to  adorn  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour, 
by  a  regular  and  well  ordered  conversation.  The  generation 
of  blind,  legal,  formal  professors,  who  are  too  significant  in 
their  own  esteem  to  acknowledge,  that  the  whole  of  their 
salvation  is  owing  to  free  grace,  and  who  will  ever  be  looking 
for  something  in  themselves,  to  render  them  worthy  of,  or  at 
least  qualified  for  the  favour  of  God,  will  always  be  cavilling 
against  the  true  evangelical  doctrine,  as  if  it  encouraged  loose- 
ness, and  slandering  it,  as  if  it  opened  a  door  to  Antinomian 
errors.  Let  us,  then,  not  only  endeavour  to  be  furnished  with 
arguments,  to  refute  them,  and  to  vindicate  the  glorious  gospel 


AS   IT  ENCOURAGES   HOLINESS.  443 

of  the  blessed  God  from  their  vile  calumnies;  but  let  us,  in  the 
strength  of  Christ,  live  down  their  objections,  and  show,  by  the 
whole  tenor  of  our  conversation,  that  the  grace  of  God  is  not 
an  unoperating  thing;  that  it  does  not  indulge  those  who  are  the 
subjects  of  it  in  laziness  and  indolence,  much  less  in  looseness 
and  impurity;  but  that  it  puts  them  upon  bringing  honour  to  it, 
by  a  pious,  pure,  honest,  and  prudent  walk.  Let  us  shape  our 
course  by  those  words  of  the  apostle  Paul,  wherein  he  has  set 
this  matter  in  a  very  beautiful  light;  which,  as  they  are  a  noble 
account  of  the  genuine  tendency  of  the  doctrine  of  free  grace, 
so  they  contain  a  sure  directory  to  all  that  have  embraced  the 
gospel  of  peace :  they  have  been  produced  above,  but  they  can- 
not be  repeated  too  often :  "  The  grace  of  God,  which  brings 
salvation,  has  appeared  to  all  men,  teaching  them  that  denying 
imgodliness,  and  worldly  lusts,  they  should  live  soberly,  right- 
eously, and  piously,  in  this  present  world,  looking  for  the  blessed 
hope,  even  the  glorious  appearance  of  our  great  God  and  Sa- 
viour, Christ  Jesus,  who  gave  himself  for  us,  to  redeem  us  from 
all  iniquity,  and  to  purify  to  himself  a  peculiar  people,  zealous 
of  good  works,"  Tit.  ii.  11 — 14. 

If  we  would  manifest,  that  we  are  partakers  of  divine  grace, 
and  are  in  a  state  of  salvation ;  if  we  would  with  comfort  look 
for  the  second  appearance  of  our  great  God  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,  and  expect  that  as  matter  of  blessed  hope,  which  will 
be  to  the  terror  of  the  unbelievers  and  the  ungodly;  and  if  we 
would  comply  with  his  design,  in  giving  himself  for  us,  and 
answer  his  end  in  redeeming  us  to  himself,  then  let  us  be  afraid 
of  all  iniquity ,  ^y  \he  least  appearance  of  evil,  and  hate  the 
garments  spotted  with  the  flesh;  let  us  deny  all  ungodliness, 
renounce  the  hidden  things  of  dishonesty,  and  forsake  the  lusts 
of  the  flesh,  and  of  the  mind ;  and  let  us  be  zealous  for  good 
works,  diligent  to  obey  the  law,  and  careful  to  behave  piously 
towards  God,  act  honestly,  and  live  temperately:  unless  we  do 
this,  all  our  big  words  about  the  grace  of  God,  are  but  swelling 
words  of  vanity,  our  hope  is  but  groundless,  and  we  endeavour 
to  thwart  Christ's  design  in  redeeming  men.  Let  us  then  evi- 
dence that  we  are  the  elect  of  God,  and  predestinated  by  him  to 
salvation,  that  we  are  redeemed  by  Christ,  and  justified  by  his 
righteousness,  that  we  are  converted  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  are 
his  workmanship,  and  that  we  have  good  hope  of  heaven  through 
grace,  and  are  the  expectants  of  a  blessed  immortality,  by  our 
holy,  righteous,  pure,  and  prudent  behaviour. 

Let  us  stand  at  the  greatest  distance  from  all  sin:  what- 
ever we  are  convinced  is  forbidden  by  God,  in  his  holy  law,  let 
us  start  from :  let  us  forsake  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  or  avoid  all 
open  and  scandalous  disorders;  but  let  us  not  be  content  with 
this,  lest  we  should  be  only  like  whited  tombs,  which  make  a 
fair  show  without,  but  within  are  full  of  rottenness  and  cor- 


444         OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GRACE, 

ruption ;  let  us,  at  the  same  time  that  we  mortify  the  desires  of 
the  flesh,  crucify  the  imperious  and  dangerous  hists  of  the 
mind ;  let  us  not  give  way  to  pride,  malice,  envy,  hatred,  and 
self-seeking:  when  in  many  things  we  all  offend,  let  us  not 
entertain  light  thoughts  of  sin,  much  less  give  way  to  trans- 
gress presumptuously;  let  us  be  deeply  humbled,  that  we  so 
often  provoke  the  Most  High,  by  sinning  in  thought,  in  word, 
and  in  deed;  let  us  hate  and  abhor  sin,  and  look  upon  it  to  be 
most  abominable,  because  it  is  odious  to  a  God  of  infinite  good- 
ness, occasioned  the  groans,  agonies,  and  death  of  a  kind  Sa- 
viour, and  tends  to  bring  ruin  on  our  immortal  souls ;  let  us  con- 
demn ourselves,  that  we  have  committed  what  is  of  so  hurtful 
a  nature;  let  us  be  filled  with  godly  sorrow  for  sin,  and  take  a 
holy  revenge  upon  it;  let  us,  by  the  help  of  the  Spirit,  turn  from 
it  to  God ;  and,  as  we  sin  daily,  let  us  delight  to  renew  our 
work  of  repentance  every  day  we  live:  let  us  never  comply 
with  any  thing  which  is  evil,  which  a  corrupt  age  has  made 
customary,  but  let  us  take  pleasure  in  that  singularity,  which 
is  commendable,  which  is  to  stand  off"  from  every  thing  that 
has  a  tendency  to  dishonour  God,  to  wound  the  peace  of  our 
own  consciences,  and  to  discredit  that  pure  religion  which  we 
profess. 

Let  us  practice  all  moral  duties,  and  Christian  graces;  let 
us  act  justly,  warily,  and  honestly  in  our  dealings  with  men ; 
let  us  make  conscience  to  perform  all  our  promises,  to  make 
good  all  our  engagements,  and  to  be  faithful  to  every  trust  com- 
mitted to  us:  let  us  be  temperate  in  our  using  the  things  which 
are  appointed  for  the  support  and  comfort  of  life  ;  moderate  in 
our  pursuit  of  the  world,  and  wary  and  careful  to  provide  things 
honest  in  the  sight  of  all  men ;  let  us  be  humble  in  our  carriage 
and  deportment,  and  be  amiable  in  our  behaviour ;  let  us  be 
even  in  our  temper,  if  we  are  compassed  about  with  prosperity, 
patient  in  adversity,  in  bearing  ill  treatment,  and  enduring 
insults,  and  ready  to  forgive  all  personal  injuries;  let  us  be 
resigned  to  the  will  of  God,  whatever  condition  of  life  he  may 
involve  us  in,  and  desire,  in  whatsoever  state  we  are,  therewith 
to  be  content ;  let  us  love  mercy,  and  be  ready  to  show  pity  to 
any  in  distress ;  let  us  relieve  the  wants  of  others,  as  we  are  able, 
and  do  good  to  all,  especially  to  those  who  are  of  the  household 
of  faith:  let  us  show  benevolence  to  all  mankind,  even  to  those 
whose  principles  and  practices  we  may  most  detest;  and  let  us 
not  oppress  any,  if  we  have  it  in  our  power:  let  us  show  great 
love  to  our  Christian  brethren,  and  manifest  true  affection  to  all 
who  are  children  of  the  same  Father,  professors  of  the  same 
faith,  and  travellers  to  the  same  land  of  rest. 

Let  us  make  conscience  to  act  with  sincere  piety  toivards 
God;  let  us  receive  the  important  truths  which  he  has  revealed 
in  his  word,  and,  with  zeal  regulated  by  knowledge,  hold  them 


V 

AS   IT   ENCOURAGES   HOLINESS.  445 

fast,  when  they  are  denied  and  contested,  by  such  as  are  stran- 
gers to  the  wisdom  which  is  from  above;  let  us  stand  up  for  all 
that  tends  to  secure  the  honour  of  free  grace,  to  exalt  Christ, 
and  to  promote  holiness,  and  keep  our  loyalty,  our  faith,  and 
love  to  the  King  of  Zion,  the  Captain  of  our  salvation;  let  us 
search  the  Scriptures,  and  inform  ourselves  about  the  mind  and 
will  of  our  heavenly  Father ;  let  us  walk  in  all  the  ordinances 
and  institutions  of  the  Most  High,  blameless;  and  be  careful  to 
perform  the  duties  we  owe  immediately  to  God,  and  pay  the 
worship  which  he  requires ;  let  us  be  frequent  in  meditation, 
and  constant  in  prayer,  and  engage  in  the  several  parts  of  wor- 
ship required  of  us,  in  due  place  and  proper  season;  let  us  not 
omit  private  religion,  and  let  us  keep  ourselves  from  the  view 
of  men,  in  secret  duties,  as  much  as  possible ;  let  us  take  care 
that  the  voice  of  prayer  is  heard  in  our  families,  and  the  morn- 
ing and  evening  sacrifice  of  praise  is  oifered  up  in  our  houses ; 
let  us  keep  holy  the  day  of  the  Son  of  man,  and  not  forsake  the 
assembling  of  ourselves  for  the  public  worship  of  God  upon  it; 
let  us  delight  to  ofler  up  social  worship  to  our  God  and  our 
King,  and  to  join  with  others  in  compassing  his  altar  with  our 
suppHcations,  and  to  attend  on  his  word  preached,  and  hear  the 
joyful  sound ;  let  us,  if  we  are  in  church-fellowship,  keep  our 
solemn  vows,  honour  them  who  have  the  rule  over  us,  and 
speak  to  us  the  word  of  life,  watch  over  one  another,  and  cele- 
brate the  supper  of  our  Lord,  remembering  his  death  with  faith, 
love,  thankfulness,  godly  sorrow,  and  holy  joy;  let  us  labour  to 
engage  in  that  ordinance,  and  in  all  the  parts  of  worship,  with 
life  and  vigour,  with  circumspection  and  fervour,  and  without 
formality  and  deadness,  without  slightness  and  unconcernedness, 
that  so  the  words  of  our  mouths,  and  the  meditations  of  our 
hearts,  may  be  pleasing  to  that  God  whom  we  serve. 

When  we  do  the  things  mentioned,  let  us  not  give  way  to  the 
insolent  vanity  of  thinking  to  make  God  our  debtor,  or  io  pur- 
chase heaven;  but,  when  we  have  done  most,  let  us  be  ready 
to  own,  that  we  are  unprofitable  servants,  in  having  done  no 
more  than  our  duty,  and  that  we  are,  in  part,  unfaithful  ser- 
vants, as  we  omit  many  things,  we  are  obliged  to;  let  us,  in  all 
we  do,  whether  of  a  moral,  civil,  or  religious  nature,  act  from  a 
principle  of  love  to  God,  with  a  regard  to  the  rule  which  he  has 
given  us,  in  his  word,  and  with  a  sincere  desire  to  advance  his 
glory,  whose  we  are,  and  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  all  the 
blessings  pertaining  to  life  and  godliness;  let  us,  under  a  sense 
of  our  weakness  and  ignorance,  be  frequently  applying  our- 
selves, by  prayer,  to  the  God  of  all  grace,  that  he  would  bring 
us  to  know  our  duty,  and  would  enable  us  constantly  to  perform 
it,  that  so  we  may  credit  religion,  and  maj'- adorn  the  profession 
we  make  of  his  name,  as  well  as  expect  salvation  as  the  gift  of 
grace,  and  the  reward  of  Christ's  purchase. 


446       OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GRACE,  ETC. 

Let  us,  at  the  same  time  that  we  renounce  all  confidence  in 
the  flesh,  and  cast  aside  all  trust  in  our  own  performances,  rely 
on  Christ  for  assistance  to  keep  the  faith,  to  run  our  race,  and 
to  fight  the  good  fight ;  let  us  determine,  that  in  Jesus,  who  is 
the  Lord  Jehovah,  our  Saviour  and  our  God,  we  will  have 
strength,  as  well  as  righteousness;  let  us  comfort  ourselves  with 
considering  that  he  is  unchangeable  in  his  truth,  to  make  good 
his  promises,  that  he  is  ever  present  with  us,  to  guard  us,  that 
he  knows  all  our  wants,  and  is  infinite  in  wisdom,  to  order  all 
things  for  our  good,  that  he  is  almighty  in  power,  to  defend  us 
against  enemies,  and  to  finish  his  own  work  in  us,  and  that  he 
is  boundless  in  goodness,  mercy,  and  compassion,  to  bestow 
upon  us  all  things  that  tend  to  our  happiness  and  well-being: 
having  such  a  glorious  Captain  of  salvation,  and  such  a  power- 
ful Leader,  to  the  peaceful  provinces  of  immortality,  let  us  go 
through  the  wilderness  of  this  world,  leaning  upon  him  our 
beloved  and  our  friend;  and  we  need  not  fear  but  that  he  will 
enable  us  to  act  as  becomes  the  gospel,  and  to  bring  credit  to  the 
doctrine  of  grace,  which  we  profess,  by  doing  justly,  loving 
mercy,  and  walking  humbly  and  piously  with  our  God ;  and 
then  "  when  Christ,  who  is  onr  life,  shall  appear,  we  shall  appear 
with  him  in  glory:"  and,  as  the  sincere  followers  of  the  Lamb, 
shall  sit  together  with  him  in  heavenly  places ;  where  crowns 
of  glory  will  circle  our  brows,  and  palms  of  victory  will  grace 
our  hands;  where  the  white  attire  of  innocence  will  deck  us, 
and  the  glittering  array  of  light  will  adorn  us;  and  where  plea- 
sures, grown  to  full  perfection,  will  always  regale  us,  and  joys, 
substantial  and  sincere,  will  to  eternity  delight  us. 

To  the  Father  of  mercies,  who,  out  of  his  sovereign  pleasure, 
chose  us  to  salvation,  before  the  foundation  of  the  world, 
that  we  might  be  holy  and  blameless  before  him  in  love; 
to  the  Son,  who  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem 
us  from  iniquity,  and  purify  to  himself  a  peculiar  people, 
zealous  of  good  works;  and  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  changes 
the  whole  frame  of  our  minds,  that  we  may  walk  in  new- 
ness of  life;  to  these  three  divine  Persons,  but  the  one 
supreme  God,  whom  we  adore,  be  honour,  praise,  and 
glory,  in  all  the  churches,  now,  henceforth,  and  for  ever 
more.     Amen. 


AN 

HUMBLE  AND  IMPARTIAL  INQUIRY 


INTO  THE  CAUSES  OF  THE 

DECAY   OF   PRACTICAL   RELIGION; 

OR  INTO  THE 

TRUE    GROUNDS     OF     THE     DECLENSIONS    AS    TO    THE     LIFE    AND 

POWER    OF    GODLINESS,    VISIBLE    IN    SUCH    AS 

PROFESS  IT  IN  THE  PRESENT  DAY. 

y 

By  MR.  ABRAHAM  TAYLOR, 

MINISTER  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 


Revelation  iii.  1 — 3. — To  the  angel  of  the  church  at  Sardis  write,  These  things 
says  he  who  has  the  seven  spirits  of  God,  and  the  seven  stars ;  I  know  thy 
works,  that  thou  hast  a  name  that  thou  livest,  and  art  dead  :  be  watchful,  and 
strengthen  the  things  which  remain,  and  are  ready  to  die;  for  I  have  not  found 
thy  works  upright  before  God :  remember,  therefore,  how  thou  hast  received 
and  heard,  and  hold  fast  and  repent.  If  therefore  thou  wilt  not  watch,  I  will 
come  on  thee  as  a  thief,  and  thou  shalt  not  know  what  hour  I  will  come  upon 
thee. 

Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  sole  King  in  his  church ;  and  no 
single  man,  nor  any  collective  bodies  of  men,  should,  on  any 
pretence,  usurp  his  power.  What  doctrines  he  has  seen  fit  to 
reveal,  are  to  be  received  on  his  authority,  though  they  may 
not  come  wholly  within  the  grasp  of  our  finite  understandings: 
the  worship  which  he  has  judged  proper  to  prescribe,  must  be 
religiously  kept  to,  though  it  may  not,  for  want  of  pomp  and 
pageantry,  be  pleasing  to  the  flesh;  and  the  duties  of  practical 
godliness,  which  he  has  declared  are  to  be  performed  by  all  his 
followers,  must  not  be  neglected,  though  they  may  be  difficult 
to  be  observed.  When  men  inculcate  doctrines,  which  Christ 
never  revealed,  they  offer  him  a  high  affront;  when  they  pre- 
scribe methods  of  worship,  which  he  never  commanded,  they, 
with  daring  insolence,  encroach  on  his  prerogative;  and  when 
they  enjoin  austerities,  which  he  never  required,  they  set  their 
wisdom  above  his.  On  the  other  hand,  when  men  take  upon 
them  to  bring  persons  off  from  regarding  the  great  mysteries  of 
the  gospel,  which  the  true  and  faithful  Witness  has  made  known, 
under  the  pretence  that  they  are  abstruse  speculations,  matters 
of  dispute,  and  things  which  tend  to  shut  out  charity,  the  great- 
est of  all  graces,  they  break  their  allegiance  to  Christ,  and  go 

447 


448        OF  THE  CAUSES  OF  THE  DECAY 

about  sacrilegiously  to  rob  his  followers  of  the  sacred  treasure 
of  faith;  when  any  refuse  to  be  found  engaged  in  the  worship 
which  the  King  of  Zion  has  appointed,  they  cast  contempt  on 
him  and  declare  they  will  not  walk  within  the  sacred  inclosures 
which  he  has  placed  about  his  church;  and  when  any  neglect 
that  internal  and  external  purity,  which  the  holy  and  the  just 
One  has  required,  they  show  they  have  no  part  or  interest  in 
him.  If  a  professing  people  are  zealous  for  the  truths  of  the 
gospel,  if  they  are  careful  to  regulate  their  worship  by  the 
pattern  given  in  the  word,  and  if  they  abound  in  the  works  of 
righteousness,  and  shine  in  the  beauties  of  holiness,  it  may  be 
said  that  the  glory  of  Christ  resides  among  them,  and  that  their 
blessings  will  be  crowned  with  a  desirable  increase ;  but  if  they 
are  lukewarm  and  indifferent,  as  to  the  great  truths  of  the  gos- 
pel, if  they  are  negligent  in  attending  on  the  worship  appointed 
by  their  great  Prophet  and  King,  and  if  they  act  dissolutely, 
and,  instead  of  denying  themselves,  symbolize  with  the  profane 
world,  it  may  be  said  of  them,  that  their  beauty  is  tarnished, 
that  gray  hairs,  the  tokens  of  spiritual  decay,  are  upon  them, 
and  the  glory  is  upon  the  departure.  When  it  is  thus,  they 
provoke  Christ,  by  their  sordid  ingratitude,  to  remove  their 
candlestick  out  of  its  place,  unless  they  repent,  they  grieve  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  he  withdraws  himself,  as  to  his  comforting 
presence,  and  as  to  his  accompanying  ordinances  with  his  effi- 
cacious power,  so  that  they  are  given  up  to  a  lifeless  formality; 
and  though  by  their  continuing  to  make  a  profession,  they  have 
a  name  to  live,  yet,  in  reality,  there  is  a  death  upon  their  com- 
forts, and  they  do  not  act  with  that  vigour  in  serving  Christ, 
which  becomes  persons  which  are  alive. 

In  the  chapter  from  whence  the  words  are  taken,  and  in  that 
preceding,  the  beloved  disciple  John,  the  last  survivor  of  the 
apostles,  has  set  down  the  letters  which  his  exalted  Master 
directed  him  to  write  to  seven  famous  churches  of  the  provin- 
cial Asia.  His  life  was  lengthened  out  far  beyond  any  of  the 
other  companions  of  the  Lord;  and  when  he  was  advancing 
towards  a  hundred  years,  he  was,  in  the  second  persecution 
raised  by  Domitian,  banished  into  Patmos,  a  lonely  island  in 
the  Archipelago ;  where,  being  retired  on  a  Lord's  day  for 
meditation,  his  exalted  Master,  who  had  for  many  years  been 
out  of  the  sight  of  his  bodily  eyes,  was  pleased  to  appear  to 
him,  in  a  very  magnificent  and  glorious  form,  and  audibly  to 
proclaim  himself  the  sole  Head  and  King  of  the  church,  and 
to  dictate  to  him  seven  short  epistles,  to  be  sent  to  the  seven 
principal  churches  of  the  province  of  Asia,  to  rouse  such  as 
were  under  declensions,  and  to  encourage  such  as  were  true 
to  his  cause  and  interest.  When  he  returned  from  exile,  under 
Nerva,  he  committed  this  book  to  writing,  for  the  use  of  all  the 
churches. 


OF   PRACTICAL    RELIGION.  449 

It  has  been  matter  of  warm  contest  for  some  years,  among 
our  brethren  in  the  United  Provinces,  whether  these  epistles 
are  to  be  understood,  as  having  only  a  literal  reference  to  the 
seven  churches,  which  were  in  Asia,  or  whether  they  were  a 
prophetical  representation  of  what  was  to  fall  out  in  the  Chris- 
tian churches,  to  the  end  of  time,  in  seven  periods;  and  it  nmst 
be  owned,  that  this  controversy  has  been  carried  on  with  so 
much  heat,  especially  by  the  followers  of  the  learned  Cocceius, 
who  are  for  the  prophetical  sense,  that  it  has  made  great  in- 
roads on  brotherly  love,  and  has  taken  up  many  able  and 
excellent  pens,  which  might  have  been  employed  in  matters  of 
greater  importance.  I  will  not  take  upon  me  peremptorily  to 
determine  which  party  have  best  hit  the  mind  and  will  of  the 
Holy  Spirit;*  I  must,  however,  just  hint,  that  a  great  difficulty 
sticks  with  me,  with  relation  to  the  supposition,  that  these  epis- 
tles contain  an  account  of  the  Christian  church,  under  seven 
periods,  till  the  end  of  all  things;  and  that  is,  the  church  is  only 
represented,  either  in  a  suffering,  or  in  a  declining  condition; 
but  there  is  nothing  said  of  that  glorious  state  of  it,  which  we, 
from  the  Scriptures,  believe,  will  be  before  the  end  of  time:  I 
cannot  but  think,  if  this  had  been  designed  as  a  representation 
of  the  state  of  the  Christian  church,  in  seven  scenes,  till  the 
consummation  of  all  things,  we  should  have  had  something 
said  of  the  glory  of  the  latter  days,  which  some  of  our  brethren, 
who  are  for  the  doctrine  of  seven  periods,  allow,  as  well  as 
others. 

The  words  which  I  have  chosen  for  the  subject  of  present 
meditation,  are  part  of  the  letter  written  to  the  church  at  Sardis. 
Christ  began  with  setting  forth  his  own  prerogative;  he  has  the 
seven  Spirits,  or  he  distributes  the  various  operations  of  his  Spirit 
as  he  pleases,  and  makes  a  more  plentiful  effusion  at  one  time 
than  another;  he  has  the  seven  stars,  or  he  overrules  and  directs, 
all  the  ministers  in  his  church,  and  they  are  accountable  to  him. 
He  declared  his  omniscience  when  he  said,  I  knoio  thy  ivorks; 
he  judged  not  by  appearance,  because  he  is  the  searcher  of 
hearts.  He  described  the  members  of  the  church  at  Sardis,  to 
be  in  a  very  declining  condition,  to  have  a  name  to  live,  but,  in 
reality  to  have  so  little  life  left,  that  it  might  be  said,  they  were 
dead  in  spiritual  declensions;  and  he  has  told  us,  that  he  found 
not  their  works  perfect  or  upright  with  God;  or  that  he  saw 
too  much  formality  and  hypocrisy  among  them:  he  warned 
them  of  their  danger,  commanded  them  to  be  watchful,  to 
strengthen  what  was  left,  which  was  commendable,  which  was 

*  The  reader  may  see  this  matter  discussed  by  two  very  learned  men,  M.  Wit- 

\ius,  (Vid.  Misc.  Sac.  Vol.  1.  lib.  3.)  and  M.  A.  Marck,  who,  I  hear,  has  newly 

ntered  into  his  Master's  joy,  (Pref.  ad  com.  in  Apoc:)     See  also  the  very  learned 

M.  Vitringa's  Commentary,  who,  though  not  a  professed  Cocceian,  here  falls  in 

with  the  prophetical  sense. 

57 


450        OF  THE  CAUSES  OF  THE  DECAY 

ready  to  expire ;  to  call  to  mind,  and  hold  fast,  the  truths  they 
had  received  and  heard,  and  to  repent  of  their  backslidings :  and 
he  added  a  severe  threat,  in  case  they  were  regardless  of  his 
admonitions,  that  he  would  visit  them  in  a  way  of  severity,  and 
that  suddenly,  when  they  might  least  fear  his  coming,  he  would 
act  as  a  swift  witness  against  them.  It  has  been  observed,  that 
it  does  not  appear,  from  what  is  here  mentioned,  that  the  faith 
which  they  professed  was  chargeable  with  errors,  or  that  their 
worship  was  sullied  with  superstition;  but  as  there  does  not 
seem  to  be  any  advantage  resulting  from  such  an  observa- 
tion, it  is  rather  probable,  from  their  being  commanded  to  hold 
fast  what  they  had  heard,  and  learned,  that  they  were  de- 
clining in  zeal  for  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  as  well  as  that 
practical  religion  was  at  a  low  ebb,  and  almost  ready  to  expire 
among  them. 

We  may  allow,  as  indeed  it  seems  to  be  the  justest  account 
of  the  matter,  that  these  epistles  had  a  literal  reference  to  the 
churches  then  in  Asia,  which  were  over-run  with  the  Gnostics 
and  Nicolaitans,  who  denied  the  union  of  the  divine  and  human 
nature  in  Christ ;  maintained  that  equivocation  and  occasional 
conformity  to  the  heathen  ceremonies  were  lawful;  and  abused 
the  doctrine  of  grace,  to  the  encouraging  of  loose  practices. 
However,  seeing  all  that  is  written  in  Scripture  is  recorded  for 
our  learning  and  use,  we,  in  these  after  ages,  may  compare  our- 
selves with  the  more  ancient  churches,  and  may  expect,  that  if 
we  are  like  them,  the  threatenings  which  were  denounced  against 
them,  may  be  understood  to  be  in  some  measure  levelled  against 
us.  We  may  not  have  the  same  errors  started  now  as  were 
disseminated  in  the  Asiatic  churches;  neither  may  the  same  de- 
viations from  that  holiness,  which  is  required  in  all  that  embrace 
the  gospel,  be  found  among  us,  as  were  to  be  met  with  in  them. 
However,  if  our  errors  in  doctrine  are  as  pernicious,  though  of 
a  different  sort;  and  our  deeds,  though  running  in  another  chan- 
nel, are  as  bad,  we  must  own  that  we  have  a  name  to  live,  but 
are  dead;  and  we  may  suppose,  that  Christ  commands  us  to  be 
watchful,  to  strengthen  the  things  which  remain,  and  are  ready 
to  die ;  and  to  remember,  and  hold  fast,  what  we  have  learned, 
and  repent ;  lest  he  visit  us  in  the  way  of  his  judgments,  when 
we  least  expect  it. 

I.  I  shall  briefly  set  forth  what  is  the  state  of  religion 
among  us. 

I  shall  not  concern  myself  with  those  who  are  of  the  Na- 
tional establishment,  nor  with  those  who  are  pretty  much  of 
our  sentiments,  in  the  countries  under  the  same  civil  govern- 
ment with  us ;  but  I  shall  confine  myself  to  such  as  take  the 
title  of  English  Protestant  Dissenters.  And  here  no  words 
can  be  too  full  of  emphasis  to  set  forth  our  condition;  nay, 
words  are  wanting,  to  show  how  we  have  fallen  from  our 


OF   PRACTICAL    RELIGION.  451 

Jirst  love.  A  zeal  for  the  honour  of  Christ,  an  ardent  concern 
for  exalting  the  glory  of  the  free  grace  of  God,  hi  contriving  and 
executing  our  salvation,  a  desire  to  have  the  fallen  creature 
depressed,  and  to  have  works  of  any  sort  excluded  from  contri- 
buting to  salvation,  and  a  care  to  abound  in  holiness,  and  to  pro- 
mote practical  religion  in  the  closet,  in  the  family,  and  in  the 
public,  were  formerly  the  glories  of  our  cause,  and  were  the 
noble  badges  and  amiable  marks  of  the  generality  of  them,  who 
deprived  themselves  of  many  worldly  emoluments,  that  they 
might  not  prostitute  their  consciences,  by  complying  with  what 
they  judged  to  be  disagreeable  to  the  Scripture  rule.  While 
they  thus  held  fast  their  integrity,  they  were  greatly  honoured 
of  God ;  they  were  mighty  in  word,  they  were  powerful  in 
prayer;  the  work  of  conversion  was  successfully  carried  on,  and 
many,  who  had  a  good  disposition  wrought  in  them,  flocked 
into  churches;  then  were  seen  the  evident  signals  of  the  Holy 
Spirit's  presence;  and  great  strictness  was  kept  up  among  those 
who  made  a  religious  profession.  These  things  we  have  heard 
with  our  ears,  and  our  fathers  have  told  us ;  and  some  survive, 
who  have  a  remembrance  how  matters  formerly  stood  among 
us,  whilst  we  were  under  the  disadvantages  of  penal  laws,  and 
had  the  powers  of  the  earth  engaged  against  us,  and  had  none 
to  protect  us,  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  rights,  which  belonged  to 
us,  as  men  and  Christians,  At  last,  it  pleased  God  to  loose  our 
bands,  and  to  set  our  feet  in  a  large  place ;  but,  how  are  we 
altered  for  the  worse,  since  we  enjoyed  our  liberties  ?  The 
first  abuse  of  our  freedom  was,  to  relinquish  the  ancient,  as 
well  as  genuine  Christian  doctrine  of  justification  by  the  right- 
eousness of  Christ ;  to  deny  the  perfection  of  the  moral  law, 
and  to  substitute  a  pretended  law  of  grace,  which  required  sin- 
cere obedience,  instead  of  perfect  righteousness;  this  was  accom- 
panied with  a  decay  of  practical  religion,  and  we  have  since 
been  gradually  declining,  till  now;  and  it  may  be  said  of  us, 
that  we  have  run  the  utmost  length  in  error,  and  have  taken 
the  greatest  compass  in  sin.  When  we  compare  the  present 
state  of  religion  among  us,  with  what  it  was  formerly,  we  may 
say,  how  are  we  fallen  from  our  first  estate !  how  are  we  cut 
down  to  the  ground !  how  is  our  zeal  turned  into  lukewarm- 
ness,and  our  circumspection  into  dissoluteness!  Slight  thoughts 
of  the  Christian  revelation  abound,  so  that  infidelity  is  almost 
ready  to  prevail;  error  was  never  more  rampant  than  it  now 
is;  private,  family,  and  public  worship,  were  never  more  ne- 
glected ;  and  covetousness,  pride,  self-conceit,  and  licentious- 
ness, never  more  abounded. 

It  may  not  seem  likely,  that  the  charge  of  Atheism  can  be 
brought  against  such  as  profess  religion;  and  it  must  be  owned, 
that  none  are  so  hardy  as  to  deny  the  being  of  a  God,  who  do 
not  cast  off  all  restraints  of  profession ;  but  some  have  gone 


452         OF  THE  CAUSES  OF  THE  DECAY 

SO  far  as  to  assert,  that  there  are  moral  fitnesses,  with  regard  to 
human  actions,  previous  in  nature  to  the  will  of  God.  This, 
whatever  they  may  think,  or  however  they  may  endeavour  to 
fortify  themselves  whh  plausible,  though  unintelligible  sen- 
tences, is  to  set  up  a  system  of  morality  without  God  at  the 
head  of  it.  They  pretend,  that  there  is  not  any  obligation  pre- 
vious to  the  will  of  God,  but  only  in  order  of  nature ;  but  yet 
that  the  obligation  to  obedience  necessarily  results  from  the 
nature  of  things,  though  some  of  the  particular  instances,  and 
trials  of  this  obedience,  may  depend  entirely  on  the  will  of 
God;  and  that  there  are  eternal  and  unchangeable  fitnessess  in 
things  from  which  only  we  can  be  certain  of  the  unchangeable- 
ness  of  God  in  his  purposes,  and  promises,  and  government  of 
the  world.  If  this  has  not  a  tendency  to  introduce  the  exploded 
and  unintelligible  jargon  of  an  eternal  and  unchangeable  fate 
by  which  the  purposes  of  the  supreme  God  are  confined,  which 
was  the  hideous  representation  of  this  matter,  among  the  hea- 
then, it  is  hard  to  say  when  one  thing  is  like  another.  These 
are  the  unworthy  representations  which  are  given  us  of  God, 
and  of  the  foundations  of  morality;  this  is  setting  some  unin- 
telligible principle,  as  moral  fitness,  the  reason  of  things,  or  the 
like,  above  God,  which  is  a  great  advance  towards  Atheism, 
and  can  have  no  other  etiect  than  making  men  think  there  is 
no  need  of  a  God  to  govern  the  world.  Many,  who  call  them- 
selves Christians  now,  will  scarce  allow  that  we  are  account- 
able to  God ;  and  many,  who  say  the  Bible  is  their  religion, 
eagerly  contend,  that  natural  religion,  or  reason,  is  a  sujfticient 
rule  for  men  to  walk  by. 

As  to  the  doctrines  contained  in  Scripture,  they  are  almost 
all  now  struck  out  of  the  list  of  articles  of  faith  ;  error  may 
truly  be  said  to  come  in  like  a  flood,  and  to  spread  itself  like  a 
raging  torrent ;  we  may  cry  out,  "  The  floods  have  lifted  up 
their  voice,  the  floods  have  lifted  up  their  waves."  Most  of 
the  pernicious  errors  which  have  formerly  been  brought  into 
the  church,  are  eagerly  embraced  in  our  unhappy  times ;  the 
enemies  have,  for  some  years,  been  endeavouring  to  rob  Christ 
and  the  Holy  Spirit  of  the  glory  of  their  supreme  divinity,  and 
to  reduce  them  to  the  rank  of  creatures :  and  now  men  grow 
bolder  in  error;  they  are  forward  to  deny  their  personality,  and 
to  make  them  only  attributes,  powers,  and  names  of  the  Father. 
God's  election  of  his  people  to  glory  is  arraigned  as  unreason- 
able; and  his  sovereignty  is,  in  the  most  saucy  manner,  opposed. 
The  fall  of  man  is  entirely  forgotten,  and  his  original  corruption 
is  eagerly  denied  and  exploded ;  and  his  death  is  said  to  be  what 
must,  according  to  the  necessity  of  nature,  have  fallen  out. 
Justification  by  righteousness,  is  a  point  pursued  with  rancour 
and  malice;  and  sincerity,  though  in  an  error,  is  given  out  to 
be  a  sufficient  title  to  God's  favour.     Preaching  Christ  in  his 


OF   PRACTICAL    RELIGION.  453 

person,  offices,  and  in  the  merits  of  liis  death,  undergoes  the 
persecution  of  cruel  mockings;  and  is  spoken  of,  by  brain-sick 
novices,  only  with  a  sneer.  The  efficacious  grace  of  tlie  Holy 
Spirit,  and  liis  sanctifying  and  comforting  influences,  are  rudely 
blasphemed  as  enthusiasm;  and  the  power  of  man,  to  convert 
himself,  and  to  answer  the  ends  of  his  living  in  the  world,  is 
eagerly  contended  for;  though  those  who  plead  for  this  power, 
show  that  if  they  have  it,  it  may  be  in  them,  without  being 
put  into  act.  The  perseverance  of  the  saints  in  holiness  is 
profanely  bantered.  The  stupid  and  brutish  notion  of  the  soul's 
sleeping  after  death,  is,  by  some,  hotly  maintained  ;  and  its 
immateriality  and  immortality  are  exploded  by  others.  The 
resurrection  of  the  same  body  is  represented  as  impossible;  and 
a  general  judgment,  nay,  a  particular  time  of  men's  appearing 
before  God  to  give  an  account  of  what  they  have  done  in  the 
body,  is  now  a  subject  of  ridicule;  and  the  doctrine  of  the  wick- 
ed being  reserved  for  eternal  torments,  is,  by  many,  set  aside. 
This,  without  straining,  nay,  without  amplifying  the  matter,  is 
an  account  how  things  stand  with  us,  as  to  matters  of  belief. 
What  adds  to  our  iinhappiness  is,  many  who  do  not  run  the 
aforesaid  lengths,  too  much  strengthen  the  party  of  the  enemies 
of  the  truth,  and  too  much  weaken  the  hands  of  the  real  friends 
of  the  Christian  cause,  by  representing  these  great  and  import- 
ant doctrines  as  matters  of  mere  abstruse  speculation,  and  by 
branding  all  concern  for  them,  as  taking  the  Spirit's  work  out 
of  his  hand,  or  as  breaking  in  upon  Christian  charity.  Many 
act  as  if  thej''  valued  more  to  be  commended  by  an  infidel,  as 
men  of  little  larger  thought,  and  freer  inquiry  than  their  neigh- 
bours, than  to  have  a  testimony  in  the  consciences  of  good 
Christians,  who  cannot  but  think  that  they  are  more  concerned 
for  their  own  things  than  they  are  for  the  things  of  God;  and 
while  they  gain  the  good  word  of  the  enemies  of  the  Gospel, 
they  consider  not  how  much  grief  they  occasion  to  such  as  love 
the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 

As  matters  are  on  a  very  bad  footing  with  us,  with  respect  to 
faith,  if  we  impartially  continue  our  survey  we  shall  not  find 
they  are  better  with  respect  to  practice.  A  declension  in  faith, 
is  always  attended  with  disaffection  to  the  practical  duties, 
which  are  prescribed  in  the  same  divine  oracles,  that  reveal  the 
mysteries  we  are  to  believe.  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  some 
who  would  appear  to  be  very  eager  advocates  for  the  doctrine 
of  grace,  have  done  much  harm  to  religion,  by  pretending  that 
the  law  is  of  no  use  to  such  as  are  in  Christ,  and  by  discovering 
much  want  of  temper,  if  they,  at  any  time,  hear  the  duties  of 
practical  godliness  stated  and  pressed.  Some  have  called  dis- 
coursing on  the  power  of  godliness,  on  repentance,  self-denial, 
and  mortification,  low  stuff;  and  have  been  easy  to  hear  of 
nothing  but  electing  love  and  free  grace.     Such  do  harm  to  the 


454         OF  THE  CAUSES  OF  THE  DECAY 

cause  which  they  espouse  and  plead  for,  by  going  about  to 
separate  wliat  God  has  joined  together;  it  is  certain,  tliat  they 
liave  greatly  strengthened  legal  professors  in  their  dislike  of  the 
doctrine  of  grace;  not  to  mention  the  reh.1  disgrace  they  too 
often  bring  upon  it,  for  they  are  not  always  found  to  be  so 
circumspect  in  their  dealings  and  behaviour,  as  they  ought. 

If  we  leave  the  before-mentioned  persons,  and  look  to  others, 
it  must  be  said,  that  practical  religion  runs  lower  among  no 
sort  of  men,  than  those  who  hear  little  else  pressed  upon  them. 
There  never  was  less  regard  paid  to  the  Lord's  day,  than  is 
now;  many,  who  do  not  run  into  all  lengths  of  immorality, 
scruple  not  to  make  it  a  day  of  pleasure  and  recreation ;  and 
the  negligence  of  professors,  in  attending  on  God,  in  the  public 
worship  of  the  sanctuary,  is  every  day  growing  more  flagrant: 
they  despise  the  sacred  provisions  of  Sion;  and,  though  they 
are  not  arrived  at  such  height  of  insolence,  as  to  deny,  in  words, 
the  obligation  they  lie  under,  to  attend  on  public  ordinances, 
yet,  by  their  not  countenancing  the  institutions  of  Christ  with 
their  presence,  they  show  how  little  they  regard  his  authority. 
Family  religion  is  likewise  greatly  neglected ;  we  frequently 
hear  of  many  prayerless  families,  the  heads  of  which  should, 
as  we  might  think,  considering  their  profession,  be  ashamed  of 
giving  cause  for  such  a  complaint:  and  if  men  neglect  public 
worship,  and  will  not  keep  up  family  duty,  it  is  scarce  to  be 
thought  that  they  mind  private  religion;  or  that,  if  they  perform 
secret  devotions  at  all,  they  do  it  in  any  other  than  in  a  cold, 
formal,  stifi'  manner.  In  short,  the  power  of  godliness  is  very 
much  lost  in  the  world.  It  must  be  owned,  that  great  endea- 
vours have  been  used,  to  bring  professing  Christians  to  a  sense 
of  their  duty;  general  and  concerted  efforts  have  been  made  to 
impress  their  minds  with  a  sense  of  the  necessity  they  lie  under, 
to  offer  up  the  morning  and  evening  sacrifice  of  prayer  and 
praise  in  their  families,  and  to  attend  on  the  public  ordinances 
of  the  sanctuary;  but  we  cannot  say,  that  we  see  these  attempts 
have  been  so  successful  as  we  could  wish,  and  have  desired:  on 
the  contrary,  our  desolation,  with  respect  to  practical  religion, 
spreads  as  a  mighty  torrent,  notwithstanding  all  the  mounds 
which  have  been  cast  up  to  stop  the  course  of  it. 

Since  we  have  had  so  much  talk  of  natural  religion,  and  have 
had  our  ears  almost  stunned  with  the  noise,  that  moral  duties 
are  of  much  greater  importance  than  positive  institutions,  we 
cannot  say  that  morality  flourishes  in  the  least.  That  Christian 
simplicity  and  godly  sincerity  in  the  conversation,  for  which 
the  generation  that  is  now  gone  ofl"the  stage  were  so  remark- 
able, are  not  seen  among  such  as  have  sprung  up  in  their  room : 
a  new  set  of  professors  has  started  up,  who,  by  their  negligence, 
as  to  private  and  social  duties,  almost  tempt  us  to  think,  that 
they  know  not  the  God  of  their  fathers.     Moral  justice  was 


OF   PRACTICAL   RELIGION.  455 

never  at  a  lower  ebb  than  it  now  is;  and  there  were  never  such 
numbers  of  cheating  pretenders  to  rehgion,  who  distress  others, 
to  maintain  themselves  in  hixury,  as  are  in  our  day. 

We  have  had  many  tragical  complaints  of  a  narrow  spirit 
and  the  want  of  Christian  love ;  and  it  must  be  said,  that  the 
great  duties  of  love  and  forbearance  are  too  much  forgotten.  It 
has  been  an  artifice  by  which  some,  who  have  not  discovered 
the  concern  that  might  have  been  wished,  for  the  faith  once 
delivered  to  the  saints,  have  made  their  way  into  the  esteem  of 
such  as  have  more  of  affection  than  judgment,  to  engross  to 
themselves  the  character  of  being  men  of  charity;  and  many 
sentences  of  Scripture,  which  speak  of  that  love  which  Chris- 
tians should  keep  up  to  their  brethren,  or  those  who  are  friends 
to  the  truth,  have  been  frequently  used  and  inculcated,  as  if 
they  expressed  the  treatment,  we  should  give  such  as  we  are 
apprehensive  are  enemies  to,  and  opposers  of  what  we  are  per- 
suaded is  the  true  faith,  revealed  in  the  Holy  Scriptures :  we 
cannot  but  think,  that,  in  this,  a  wrong  construction  is  put  on 
many  texts.  We  are  not  to  cast  off  pity;  on  the  contrary,  we 
are  to  show  benevolence  to  the  most  erroneous,  but  we  must 
not,  we  cannot  believe  that  they,  who  oppose  the  doctrines 
we  have  learned  from  Scripture,  have  a  title  to  be  as  much 
valued  by  us,  as  sincere  searchers  after  truth,  as  they  who 
stand  up  for  the  honour  of  our  dearest  Lord.  But,  to  let  that 
pass,  we  do  not  so  much  blame  them  who  are  loudest  in  their 
cry  for  charity,  for  excess  of  it,  as  we  do  for  their  want  of  it: 
we  cannot  see  they  act  more  charity,  than  such  as  they  censure, 
as  being  narrow  spirited.  Indeed,  if  any  person  starts  the  most 
monstrous  errors,  we  cannot  but  say,  that  they  plead  for  all  for- 
bearance to  be  showed  to  him;  but  let  a  man  once  stand  up  in 
defence  of  what  these  persons  do  not  pretend  to  deny  to  be  their 
faith,  we  cannot  see  they  will  make  the  least  allowance  for  what 
they  count  his  defects,  and  which,  according  to  their  own  large 
principles,  they  should  pity  arid  overlook ;  on  the  contrary,  they 
scarce  know  how  to  vent  their  displeasure  enough  against  him. 

This  is  an  imperfect  account  of  the  state  of  religion  among 
us ;  and  if  there  is  any  defect  in  it,  it  does  not  lie  in  this,  that 
things  are  represented  to  be  worse  than  they  are,  but  rather  in 
not  setting  forth  the  state  of  our  affairs,  in  such  black  colours,  as 
they  really  admit.  When  we  see  such  increasing  declensions,  we 
cannot  but  say,  that  though  we  have  a  name  to  live,  yet  we  are  in 
a  manner  dead;  and  that  though  we  keep  up  a  profession  of 
Christianity,  we  have,  as  to  faith  and  practice  lost  our  first  love. 
Of  these  decays  we  ought  to  be  sensible,  otherwise  we  can  never 
remember  from  whence  we  have  fallen,  repent  of  our  sins,  be 
watchful,  or  strengthen  the  things  which  remain,  which  are 
ready  to  die;  but  shall  go  on  further  to  provoke  the  King  of  the 
church  to  come  upon  us,  when  we  least  expect  it,  in  a  way  of 
displeasure,  and  to  remove  our  candlestick  out  of  its  place. 


456         OF  THE  CA.USES  OF  THE  DECAY 

II.  I  sliall  inquire  into  the  true  causes  of  the  decay  of  prac 
tical  religion  in  our  time. 

All  who  make  a  profession  of  religion,  are  not  concerned,  as, 
we  cannot  but  humbly  apprehend,  they  ought  to  be,  for  the 
ravages  which  are  daily  made  on  our  most  holy  faith,  or  on  the 
doctrines  of  Christianity;  but  all  who  have  any  thing  of  a  seri- 
ous temper,  seem  to  be  alarmed  at  the  great  defection  as  to  mat- 
ters of  practical  religion.  It  is  to  be  wished,  it  could  be  said, 
that  all  who  see  these  declensions,  were  as  sensible  of  the  true 
causes  of  them;  but,  it  is  to  be  feared,  many  have  not  a  right 
notion  of  what  really  lies  at  the  bottom  of  our  prevailing  back- 
slid ings,  and  are  for  ascribing  them  to  things  which  are  so  far 
from  having  a  tendency  to  promote  them,  that  they  are  the  only 
things  which  are  proper  to  prevent  them.  Some  of  the  true 
causes  of  our  great  decays,  are  these  following,  and  it  is  matter 
of  sorrow  that  there  is  reason  to  mention  them. 

1.  One  great  cause  of  the  decay  of  practical  religion,  is  the  too 
general  contempt  which  is  cast  upon  the  important  doctrines 
of  the  Gospel, and  on  those  who  stand  up  in  their  defence  against 
seducers,  who  endeavour  to  rob  Christians  of  them.  I  am  sen- 
sible, it  has  been  often  given  out,  that  the  people  have  heard  so 
much  of  what  some  call  matters  of  speculation,  and  points  of 
dispute,  that  by  this  they  have  been  taken  off  from  minding  the 
more  important  things  which  refer  to  practice :  and  it  has  been 
said,  that  whoever  goes  far  into  controversy,  weakens  practical 
religion.  It  is  very  difficult  to  see  any  force  in  these  arguings: 
how  engaging  in  controversy,  in  defence  of  points  of  belief, 
which  are  founded  on  the  same  divine  authority,  as  the  duties 
of  practical  religion,  can  weaken  this,  is  hard  to  be  conceived : 
nay,  there  is  as  nuich  ground  to  censure  us,  if  we  launch  into 
controversies,  relating  to  the  duties  required  of  us;  and  then  we 
must  give  up  every  thing  which  men  take  it  in  their  heads  to 
deny.  Our  obligations  to  keep  the  Sabbath,  to  worship  God  in 
public,  to  keep  up  family  religion,  to  submit  to  baptism,  to  come 
to  the  table  of  the  Lord,  are  controverted,  and  the  maintaining 
of  them  will  run  us  into  as  large  a  field  of  debate,  as  any  doc- 
trinal article.  These  afibrd  questions  and  occasion  disputes; 
yet  such  as  are  afraid  of  weakening  practical  religion  by  con- 
troversy, would  scarcely  give  up  these  ;  so  that  we  cannot  think 
that  it  is  bare  controversy  which  is  disliked,  but  the  doctrines 
themselves,  which  are  in  controversy  defended. 

It  has  been  a  piece  of  advice  given  to  us,  who  serve  Christ 
in  the  work  of  the  ministry,  by  such  as  we,  on  many  accounts, 
value  and  regard;  that  sublime  speculation,  and  abstruse  con- 
troversies should  not  ordinarily  be  introduced  into  our  ser- 
mons, for  that  these  minister  questions,  rather  than  godly  edify- 
ing: and  they  observe,  that  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  engage  our 
warm  hearers  on  subjects,  which  neither  they  nor  we  can  fully 
understand  ;  that  this  is  the  ready  way  to  procure  the  regards 


OF   PRACTICAL   RELIGION.  457 

of  those,  who  lay  a  mighty  stress  on  their  own  opinions;  but 
that  their  esteem  will  be  purchased  at  too  dear  a  rate,  since, 
instead  of  promoting  true  religion,it  will  certainly  destroy  it;  that 
where  this  zeal  and  contention  are,  there  is  strife,  and  every  evil 
work:  that  though  some  may  admire  it  for  its  shining  lustre,  yet 
fatal  experience  proves  it  to  be  a  raging  flame;  and,  where  it 
breaks  out,  there  is  reason  to  fear  that  practical  godliness  will 
soon  be  consumed.  It  is  not  easy  to  say  against  what  sort  of 
men  this  counsel  is  leveled,  it  being  couched  in  such  general 
terms.  If  by  avoiding  sublime  questions  and  abstruse  contro- 
versies, nothing  more  is  meant,  than  not  introducing  questions 
about  the  unrevealed  mode  of  Scripture  mysteries,  and  not 
bringing  into  sermons  the  whimsical  attempts  of  vain  and  con- 
ceited projectors,  to  give  clear  and  bright  ideas  how  things  can 
be,  in  matters  that  surpass  our  understanding,  every  wise  man 
will  fall  in  with  it;  for  he  will  not  think  it  worth  his  while  to  trou- 
ble himself  to  defend  the  dreams  of  bold  intruders  into  things  not 
seen,  and  idle  pretenders  to  science,  falsely  so  called:  but  if  by 
abstruse  controversies,  and  sublime  speculations,  are  meant  the 
controverted  doctrine;  of  the  gospel,  which  have  such  a  depth 
of  mystery  in  them,  that  they  cannot  be  fully  comprehended, 
neither  by  preachers  nor  hearers,  it  sounds  a  little  harsh  to  say, 
that  when  zeal  for  these  breaks  out,  practical  religion  will  be 
consumed ;  because,  in  fact,  it  has  been  seen,  that  as  people  have 
grown  uneasy,  at  having  these  doctrines  unfolded,  their  regard 
to  practical  religion  has  lessened.  In  the  times  of  our  fathers, 
when  there  were  more  pulpit  skirmishes,  as  they  are  called,  by 
way  of  contempt,  which  made  sport  for  unbelievers,  who  ban- 
ter, ridicule,  and  speak  evil  of  they  know  not  what,  there  was 
much  more  of  real  religion,  than  is  now:  nay,  bad  as  the  times 
are,  it  is  seen,  that  such  as  are  against  moving  the  ancient  land- 
marks, and  pulling  up  the  old  barriers  of  truth,  who  love  to 
have  their  own  opinions,  on  which  they  lay  a  mighty  stress, 
and  that  justly,  because  they  have  had  a  practical  knowledge, 
how  much  they  are  for  a  Christian's  comfort,  stated,  maintained, 
and  defended,  against  the  attempts  of  the  enemy,  are  the  per- 
sons who  have  practical  religion  most  at  heart,  and  who  are 
most  diligent  in  performing  the  duties  of  it.  The  far  greater 
number  of  the  Sabbath-breakers,  the  despisers  of  public  wor- 
ship, and  the  neglecters  of  family  religion,  are  not  to  be  found 
among  those  who  hold  fast  the  old  doctrines,  but  among  those 
who  prate  against  creeds,  confessions,  and  systems,  and  who  are 
for  paying  no  regard  to  points  of  doctrine. 

Every  one,  who  knows  any  thing  of  the  present  state  of 
affairs,  must  be  sensible  this  is  a  truth:  and,  indeed,  it  can 
hardly  be  otherwise;  for  if  men  are  once  connived  at,  in  break- 
ing their  allegiance  to  Christ,  in  one  respect,  they  will,  on  the 
same  principles,  assume  to  themselves  a  liberty  to  do  it  in 

58 


458        OF  THE  CAUSES  OF  THE  DECAY 

another,  if  it  suits  their  fancies,  and  gratifies  their  corruptions' 
The  same  Scriptures  declare,  that,  in  the  unity  of  the  Godhead, 
there  are  three  divine  Persons;  and  that  the  Son  is  one  with  the 
Father  in  nature,  and  equal  with  him  in  perfections,  though  dis- 
tinct in  Person,  which  tell  us,  that  we  must  keep  the  Sabbath,  not 
forsake  the  assembling  of  ourselves  together,  and  pray  always. 
When  men  hear,  that  the  belief  of  a  Trinity,  which  runs  through 
the  Scripture,  is  a  mere  speculative  felicity  of  hitting  the  divine 
nature  right,  in  some  particular  modes  of  tliinking,  and  it  is  of 
no  moment,  whether  they  believe  him  who  has  tlieir  concerns 
in  his  hand,  to  be  God,  or  a  creature,  a  person,  or  a  power,  it  is 
natural  for  them  to  conclude,  that  it  is  of  as  little  importance 
whether  they  spend  the  Sabbath  in  public  worship,  and  pray  in 
their  families,  or  not;  seeing  it  is  the  same  Scripture,  which 
makes  known  points  of  doctrine,  to  avoid  controversy  they  may 
as  well  give  up  a  Scripture  duty,  to  prevent  contest  with  such 
as  are  of  another  mind,  and  to  ward  off  the  putting  themselves 
to  trouble.  They  who  give  up  any  truth,  which  the  Scripture 
has  revealed,  are  guilty  of  a  breach  of  allegiance  to  Christ;  and 
they  are  not  exempted  from  this  charge,  by  their  retaining  many 
things,  which  he  has  made  known  and  commanded ;  because  a 
man  is  as  really,  though  not  equally,  a  betrayer  of  Christ,  who 
gives  up  one  thing,  which  he  has  ordered  to  be  retained,  as  he 
who  throws  up  the  whole  of  the  Christian  doctrine;  just  as  a 
man  who  joins  with  others  to  attack  his  prince's  guards,  in 
order  to  destroy  his  person,  who  has  opportunity  to  kill  but  one 
of  his  attendants,  is  as  really  a  traitor,  as  if  he  had  been  able  to 
have  killed  all  about  him,  and  to  have  murdered  him  at  the 
same  time :  and  none  would  believe  him,  if  he  were  to  say,  that 
when  he  had  killed  one,  he  intended  to  do  no  more.  When 
men  give  up  a  part  of  Christianity  to  please  their  own  humour, 
or  to  keep  in  with  its  opposers,  they  will  always  be  ready  to 
give  up  all  other  parts  of  it,  if  it  suits  their  interest;  for  it  is 
impossible  that  a  man,  who  shows  no  value  for  the  Scripture 
account  of  Christ's  person,  incarnation,  and  satisfaction,  can 
have  any  real  regard  to  him,  as  the  governor  of  his  church,  any 
further  than  it  maybe  for  his  advantage  to  profess  subjection  to 
him.  If  a  temptation  offers,  he  will  as  much  slight  his  institu- 
tions, as  he  is  regardless  what  and  who  he  is,  and  what  he  has 
done  for  sinners.  On  the  whole,  the  little  concern  which  many 
show  for  the  great  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  is  a  principal  cause 
of  the  decay  of  practical  religion,  which  we  may  all  see,  and 
ought  greatly  to  lament. 

2.  One  great  cause  of  the  decay  of  piety,  is  the  neglect  which 
has  been  of  late,  in  preachiyis;  Christ.  By  preaching  Christ,  I 
do  not  mean  haranguing  upon  some  duties  of  natural  religion, 
which  are  not  contrary  to  his  doctrines ;  this  is  an  odd  conceit 
about  preaching  Christ:  thus  the  Pagans  may  be  said  to  preach 


OF   PRACTICAL    RELIGION.  459 

Christ.  Mahomet  stufled  his  Koran  with  many  things  taken 
from  Scripture;  at  this  rate,  to  preach  up  them,  might  enable  a 
Christian  to  say,  if  he  was  among  the  infidels,  that  he  preached 
up  Mahomet,  when  he  might  not  say  a  word  about  Mahomet's 
being  a  true  prophet,  which  is  the  fundamental  of  that  religion. 
Preaching  of  Christ  does  not  lie  in  stating  such  duties  of  natural 
religion  as  might  be  picked  up  out  of  Xenophon,  Plato,  Aristo- 
tle, and  Seneca,  which  are  not  entirely  inconsistent  with  what 
we  meet  with  in  Scripture;  yet  it  must  be  said  of  too  many, 
who  assume  the  title  of  Christian  ministers,  that  if  they  preach 
Christ  at  all,  it  is  in  this  way,  only  they  state  moral  duties  in  a 
tedious  dull  manner,  and  without  the  smartness  and  nervousness 
for  which  some  Pagan  writers  are  remarkable. 

If  we  take  to  us  justly  the  title  of  preachers  of  Christ,  we  must 
instruct  our  hearers  in  the  Scripture  account  of  his  person ;  if 
we  are  to  make  our  great  Master  known  to  men,  surely  we 
must  tell  them,  from  the  oracles  of  truth,  who  he  is,  and  what 
he  is.  We  must  vindicate  his  real  personality,  or  show  him  to 
be  distinct  from  the  Father  in  person,  though  one  God  with  him, 
against  such  as  make  him  only  a  name  or  power  of  God:  we 
must  in  opposition  to  such  as  would  reduce  him  to  the  rank  of 
creatures,  prove  his  supreme  divinity,  from  his  being  called  Je- 
hovah and  God,  in  an  absolute  sense;  from  his  being  declared 
to  be  one  with  the  Father,  and  equal  to  him ;  from  his  having 
applied  to  him  the  highest  titles  of  supremacy;  from  his  being 
represented  as  necessarily  existing,  eternal,  unchangeable,  om- 
niscient, immense,  and  almighty;  from  his  being  the  Creator, 
the  Preserver,  Upholder,  and  End  of  all  things,  and  from  his 
receiving  adoration:  we  must  make  known  that  he  is  God-man, 
or  that  he  took  into  union  with  his  divine  person  the  whole 
human  nature,  consisting  of  a  real  body,  and  a  rational  soul,  not 
an  angelic  or  a  super-angelic  spirit;  and  mast  evince  the  neces- 
sity there  was,  that  he  should  be  God  and  man,  in  one  person, 
that  there  might  be  infinite  value  in  his  merit,  at  the  same  time 
that  he  had  a  capacity  to  suffer:  we  must  defend  the  truth  of 
his  miracles,  by  which  he  confirmed  his  doctrine,  and  the  reality 
and  the  efficacy  of  his  sufferings  and  death,  by  which  he  made 
full  and  proper  satisfaction  for  the  sins  of  the  elect,  and  did  not 
procure  an  uncertain  precarious  happiness  for  the  whole  world; 
and  show  the  necessity  there  was  for  him  to  rise  and  revive, 
that  he  might  demonstrate,  that  he  had  accomplished  his  work; 
and  that  he  might  ascend  into  heaven,  and,  having  taken  his 
seat  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  might  intercede  for  his  people,  in 
an  authoritative  way;  and  that  he  might  make  a  more  plentiful 
eftYision  of  his  Spirit  upon  them.  When  we  thus  show  how  he 
executes  his  office  as  a  Priest,  we  must  make  him  known  in  all 
his  offices;  or,  as  he  is  the  great  Prophet  of  the  church,  who  has 
given  his  followers  a  full  revelation  of  the  mind  of  God,  and 


460         OF  THE  CAUSES  OF  THE  DECAY 

who  savingly  enlightens  them,  that  they  may  receive  the  truth 
in  love;  and  as  he  is  the  King  of  saints,  who  renews,  rules,  and 
governs  them,  who  strengthens  them  for  duty,  and  who  assists 
them  against  enemies  :  we  must  persuade  and  press  men  to  look 
to  Christ,  as  dying  for  sin,  to  rely  upon  him  alone  for  pardon  of 
guilt,  and  for  righteousness  to  justify  them,  without  adding  their 
imperfect  duties  to  his  infinite  merit ;  and  to  depend  on  him  for 
strength,  to  perform  sincere  obedience,  to  encounter  enemies,  to 
grow  in  grace,  and  to  persevere  in  holiness,  till,  at  last,  he  shall 
bestow  eternal  life :  we  must  maintain  that  he  is  the  Head  of 
the  church,  who  alone  has  the  right  to  prescribe  rules  for  wor- 
ship, so  that  none  must  impose  their  inventions  on  his  subjects; 
and  that  he  is  the  person  who  is  to  judge  the  world  in  right- 
eousness, so  that  he  will  appear  a  second  time,  in  power  and 
great  glory,  to  raise  the  dead,  to  take  cognizance  of  the  actions 
of  every  creature  that  has  sinned,  to  inflict  fulness  of  torment  on 
the  rebel  angels,  to  fix  impenitent  sinners  in  ever-during  wo, 
and  to  place  those,  for  whose  sins  he  has  satisfied,  in  everlasting 
blessedness. 

We  are  not,  in  the  course  of  our  ministry,  confined  wholly  to 
these  subjects;  we  ought,  at  proper  seasons,  to  insist  upon  the 
perfections  of  God,  on  the  displays  of  his  wisdom,  power,  and 
goodness,  in  the  works  of  creation  and  providence;  and  on  his 
various  dispensations,  with  regard  to  the  aff'airs  of  his  church: 
we  are  to  show  the  great  depravity  of  men,  by  reason  of  the 
fall,  and  the  great  vanity  they  are  guilty  of,  in  seeking  satisfac- 
tion in  any  thing  short  of  the  Most  High;  and  as  it  was  not  the 
design  of  our  Redeemer,  though  he  fulfilled  and  abolished  the 
law,  as  a  covenant  of  works,  to  weaken  the  obligations  his  peo- 
ple lie  under,  to  conform  to  it  as  a  rule  of  life,  we  must  make 
known  to  men  the  duties  it  requires,  as  they  are  incumbent  upon 
us,  whether  we  are  in  a  private,  social,  or  public  capacity. — 
Though  these  things  are  not  be  wholly  omitted,  yet  we  must 
reckon  it  a  great  part  of  our  work,  to  state,  maintain,  and  de- 
fend the  glorious  doctrines  of  the  blessed  gospel,  which  relate  to 
Christ,  and  what  he  has  done  for  us,  and  which  contain  the 
foundation  of  our  hope,  as  to  a  better  world.  Even  when  we 
press  the  duties  of  the  law,  we  must  acquaint  men,  that  it  is  in 
Christ's  strength  only  that  they  can  perform  them,  and  that  it  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  be  found  practising  them,  in  order  to 
show  that  they  are  his  disciples,  and  to  express  their  gratitude 
to  him  for  all  his  benefits. 

If  we  consider  what  is  the  true  notion  of  preaching  Christ, 
and  observe  what  has  been  the  practice  of  many,  we  must  say, 
there  is  the  greatest  truth  in  an  observation,  which  has  lately 
been  made,  that  there  are  but  few,  in  our  days,  who  preach 
Christ,  and  few  that  regard  him;  and  that  the  greatest  number 
of  preachers  and  hearers  seem  contented  to  lay  him  aside.     It 


OF   PRACTICAL   RELIGION.  461 

is  a  great  shame,  and  it  should  be  matter  of  sorrow,  that  this  is 
the  truth  of  the  case;  but  since  it  is  the  real  truth,  it  ought  to 
be  spoken:  and  shice  matters  are  so,  can  we  wonder  that  prac- 
tical religion  is  neglected,  when  Christ  is  so  little  preached? 
Of  what  avail  is  it  to  tell  a  man,  that  he  must  be  serious  in  his 
behaviour,  and  circumspect  in  his  walk,  that  he  must  beware 
of  the  deceitfulness  of  sin,  and  that  he  must  be  constant  in  wor- 
ship, if  he  is  not  informed  in  whose  strength  he  must  engage  in 
duty,  and  on  whom  he  must  rely  for  aid  against  sin,  and  is  left 
in  the  dark,  as  to  the  end  he  ought  to  have  in  view,  in  perform- 
ing what  religious  service  God  requires?  JNIen  ought  to  be 
acquainted,  that  their  performances  will  never  recommend  them 
to  God  as  a  Judge,  but  yet  that  it  is  necessary  for  them  to  obey 
the  will  of  their  Creator,  that  they  may  evidence  that  they  have 
believed  in  Christ  for  righteousness;  and,  till  they  are  convinced 
of  the  truth  of  these  things,  they  will  never  sincerely  regard 
practical  religion :  they  will  either  abound  in  uncommanded 
rigours  and  austerities,  in  order  to  make  God  their  debtor;  or 
they  will  soon  grow  weary  of  the  external  part  of  religion,  and 
look  upon  it  to  be  mere  bodily  labour.  No  duties  can  be  per- 
formed with  true  spiritual  pleasure  without  faith  in  Christ;  and 
there  is  no  obedience  that  can  be  styled  evangelical  holiness, 
but  what  is  performed  in  his  strength.  If  then  Christ  is  left  out 
in  preaching,  as  declamations  and  harangues,  which  are  made 
about  inward  and  outward  piety,  must  needs  be  extremely  low 
and  lame,  so  the  practice  of  those  whose  unhappiness  it  is  to  sit 
under  such  teaching,  will  be  very  short  of  coming  up  to  what 
the  Scripture  calls  holiness.  To  tell  a  man  of  the  noble  natunj 
of  the  Christian  virtues,  of  the  beauty  of  practical  godliness,  and 
of  the  excellence  of  gospel  morality,  without  informing  him  in 
whose  strength  he  must  act,  will  have  as  little  efficacy  on  him, 
to  make  him  regulate  himself  according  to  the  admirable  model 
of  duty,  which  is  laid  down  in  Scripture,  as  a  long  discourse 
on  the  desirableness  and  benefits  of  health  would  be  of  advan- 
tage to  promote  the  recovery  of  a  sick  man,  if  he  was  not  direct- 
ed to  use  such  means  as  might  suit  his  case. 

3.  The  ascribing  too  much  to  the  power  and  the  performances 
o{ fallen  man,  and  too  little  to  the/ree  grace  of  God,  and  to  the 
righteousness  of  Christ,  has  always  been  attended  with  loose- 
ness, as  to  matters  of  practice,  and  is  one  principal  cause  of  the 
ravages  made  on  piety  among  us.  When  God  fixed  upon  the 
method  of  man's  recovery,  we  may  be  sure  he  would  never 
promote  his  salvation,  in  a  way  injurious  to  his  divine  perfec- 
tions, neither  would  he  set  one  attribute  at  variance  with  an- 
other: he  purposed  to  deliver  sinners,  in  a  way  in  which  his' 
absolute  sovereignty,  his  free  grace,  his  inexorable  justice,  his 
unsearchable  wisdom,  his  unchangeable  truth,  his  unspotted 
holiness,  his  almighty  power,  his  immense  goodness,  and  his 
rich  mercy,  might  ail  be  equally  glorified;  and  this  is  by  the 


462        OF  THE  CAUSES  OF  THE  DECAY 

salvation  of  his  elect  by  Christ  Jesus.  The  ends  which  he  had 
in  view,  in  appointing  his  Son  to  be  the  Redeemer  of  men,  and 
consequently  in  publishing  the  glad  tidings  of  great  joy,  v/hich 
the  everlasting  gospel  contains,  were  to  depress  man  as  fallen, 
to  exalt  Christ,  and  to  promote  holiness:  when  persons  then  run 
contrary  to  God's  designs,  and  strive  to  exalt  the  power  and  the 
worth  of  the  fallen  creature,  and  to  depress  the  almighty  and 
all-sufficient  Saviour,  it  is  no  wonder  that  they  are  not  concern- 
ed as  they  ought  to  be,  to  promote  practical  godliness,  because 
they  endeavour  to  separate  what  God  will  have  to  be  joined 
together.  When  men  are  against  exalting  free  grace,  and  hon- 
ouring Christ,  it  is  a  jest  for  them  to  pretend  to  be  for  promoting 
piety,  because,  if  they  really  loved  God,  they  would  have  an 
equal  regard  to  all  the  things  he  had  in  view,  in  saving  sinners 
by  Christ:  as  they  are  not  much  concerned  for  one  part  of  his 
design,  it  cannot  be  thought  that  they  act  from  a  principle  of 
real  love  to  him;  and  without  this,  though  they  may  come  under 
a  moral  reformation,  as  to  gross  sins,  it  cannot  be  thought  that 
they  will  practise  true  holiness,  which  the  holy  Scriptures  re- 
quire in  all  such  as  hope  to  see  the  Lord. 

It  has  been  matter  of  fact,  that  whenever  a  run  has  been 
made  on  the  Gospel  doctrine  of  justification,  by  the  imputed 
righteousness  of  Christ  alone,  under  the  idle  pretence  of  its 
having  a  tendency  to  discourage  good  works,  there  has  been  a 
visible  declension  in  holiness,  among  such  as  would  appear  most 
concerned  to  promote,  by  this,  the  cause  of  piety.  I  know  this 
is  a  tender  point,  and  a  thing  which  some  do  not  care  to  hear 
of;  therefore,  that  I  may  not  give  offence,  by  saying  what  might 
be  counted  harsh,  though  it  might  not  he  so  in  reality,  I  shall 
choose  to  give  my  sense  of  this  matter,  not  in  my  own  words, 
but  in  those  of  a  divine  of  great  judgment,  unbiassed  integrity, 
and  eminent  piety,  who  now  rests  from  his  labours,  and  whose 
praise  is  in  the  churches;  they  are  these:*  "When  the  doctrine 
of  justification  by  faith  prevails,  the  church  prospers;  but  when 
it  falls,  the  church  falls  with  it;  when  it  is  subverted  and  adul- 
terated, the  purity  of  the  doctrine  of  the  gospel,  in  other  things, 
cannot  be  preserved;  when  it  is  laid  aside,  and  justification  by 
works  is  brought  into  its  room,  a  flood  of  errors  comes  in  with 
it.  This  error  is  the  inlet  of  licentiousness,  and  destroys  the 
vital  part  of  holiness;  instead  of  furthering  good  works,  as  the 
favourers  of  it  pretend,  it  is  a  barren  soil  wherein  nothing  grows 
but  the  briers  and  thorns  of  evil  works.  The  papacy  is  a  sad 
instance  of  this.  The  generality  of  the  members  of  the  church 
of  Rome  are  such  as  have  banished  from  them  the  very  sliadow 
of  sobriety,  and  wallow  in  the  channel  of  unbounded  lust;  their 
strictest  devotees,  who  boast  that  they  can  merit  not  only  for 

*  Mr.  Richard  Taylor,  in  his  Scripture-Doctrine  of  Justification,  p.  204 — 207, 
in  the  second  volume  of  his  works. 


OF   PRACTICAL   RELIGION.  463 

themselves,  but  for  others,  are  more  like  mad  men,  than  men 
actuated  by  grace  or  reason.  What  are  their  works,  but  heaps 
of  idolatry  and  superstitious  fooleries?  Christ  will  only  be  a 
strength  to  them  that  trust  in  him  for  righteousness  ;  they  that 
will  not  have  him  for  their  righteousness,  shall  not  have  him  for 
their  strength  to  enable  them  to  resist  temptations,  to  mortify  sin 
and  corruption,  and  to  bring  forth  the  fruits  of  holiness. 

"  The  error  of  justification  by  works,  brings  judgments  from 
God  upon  a  people  that  give  it  any  countenance,  and  forsake 
the  truth.  This  is  verified  in  the  French  churches;  they  receded 
from  the  first  reformers  in  the  doctrine  of  justification;  this  is 
what  the  most  guilty  of  them  will  deny,  but  it  was  so  evident, 
that  the  Papists  took  notice  of  it.  The  French  Protestants  did 
not  zealously  stick  to  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  in  the 
righteousness  of  Christ,  as  it  was  transmitted  and  conveyed  down 
to  them,  by  our  reformers;  and  what  followed?  A  decay  of 
piety,  and  a  corruption  of  manners  which  provoked  God  to  scat- 
ter and  cast  them  off.  I  do  not  speak  this  to  insult  over  them, 
but  to  move  us  to  fear;  we  have  lost  the  truth  in  this  nation, 
and  we  every  day  more  and  more  lose  the  Spirit  of  holiness. 
What  a  sensible  declension  is  there  in  the  national  English 
church,  since  the  doctrinal  articles  which  have  the  spirit  of  our 
first  reformers  in  them  have  been  cried  down,  instead  of  being 
preached  up  by  them  who  yet  subscribe  to  the  truth  of  them! 
Are  not  they,  who  separate  from  the  national  church,  grown 
much  worse  since  the  new  Methodists  have  found  a  grateful 
welcome  amongst  them?  When  truth  is  lost,  holiness  will  not 
stay  behind. 

"  We  have  a  great  noise  made  about  works,  and  yet  there 
was  never  less  working  than  there  is  now  among  us ;  which 
shows  that  men  do  not  cry  up  works  from  a  love  to  holiness, 
but  only  to  favour  a  faction,  and  to  gain  credit  to  their  own  cor- 
rupt opinions.  If  God  does  not  send  forth  his  light  and  his  truth 
among  us,  and  if  he  does  not  awaken  us  to  remember  from 
whence  we  are  fallen,  that  we  may  recover  ourselves,  we  can 
expect  nothing,  but  that  our  sun  will  set  in  a  cloud  ;  and  then, 
as  we  shall  have  our  lot  to  be  piuiished  after  others,  so  our 
punishment  will  be  sorer  and  severer  than  theirs.  What  is  the 
spring  of  a  believer's  comfort,  is  now  become  the  ground  of 
contention  among  us.  Much  has  been  preached  about  justifi- 
cation by  faith  in  Christ,  and  many  useful  books  have  been 
published  concerning  it;  yet  there  is  great  darkness  among  pro- 
fessors about  it,  and,  as  they  are  ignorant  of  this  truth,  so  they 
are  barren  in  good  works." 

These  remarks  were  the  result  of  careful  observation,  near 
forty  years  ago;  and  the  time  that  has  run  out  since,  has  only 
afforded  us  more  opportunity  to  see  with  how  much  skill  and 
judgment  they  were  made.  We  have  gone  on  to  cast  more 
contempt,  every  day,  both  upon  the  glorious  doctrine  of  man's 


464        OF  THE  CAUSES  OF  THE  DECAY 

salvation  being  entirely  owing  to  the  free  grace  of  God,  and  on 
the  important  point  of  justification  by  the  righteousness  of 
Christ  imputed ;  and  the  great  pretence  has  been,  men  should 
not  hear  so  much  of  the  privileges,  which  belong  to  such  as  are 
in  Christ,  as  of  the  duties  required  of  them,  lest  they  abuse  the 
gospel,  and  run  into  Antinomianism.  If  we  either  neglect  to 
show  the  necessity  for  relying  on  Christ  for  a  justifying  right- 
eousness, or  to  evince  the  need  of  practising  holy  duties,  we  go 
out  of  God's  way,  and  cannot  expect  his  blessing :  accordingly 
we  see,  that  crying  up  of  sincere  obedience,  to  the  lessening  a 
regard  to  Christ's  righteousness,  has  been  followed  with  an 
increase  of  formality  and  deadness  in  duty,  and  with  a  great 
neglect  of  it ;  so  that  the  following  advice  of  the  author,  whose 
words  have  been  quoted,  is  very  proper  for  us  to  regard  :  "  Let 
us  pray,  that  Christianity  among  us  may  return  to  its  proper 
channel,  which  is  this;  when  men  expect  the  whole  of  their 
salvation  from  Christ,  and  yet  strive  to  be  as  fruitful  in  their 
lives,  as  if  they  expected  to  be  justified  by  their  good  works. 
The  greater  sense  any  one  has  of  the  free  grace  of  God,  the  more 
precise  and  exact  he  will  be,  in  the  duties  of  every  relation." 

4,  It  is  to  be  feared,  that  the  decay  of  piety  is  to  be  attributed, 
in  some  measure,  to  the  too  general  neglect  of  instimcthia; 
young  persons  in  the  principles  of  true  Christianity,  and  to 
the  contempt  which  has  been,  of  late  years,  cast  upon  those 
judicious  and  useful  forms  of  sound  words,  which  have  been  of 
great  advantage  to  furnish  men  with  just  notions  of  the  doc- 
trines which  are  revealed  in  Scripture.  Instructing  of  youth  in 
a  catechetical  way,  has  been  an  ancient  practice  in  the  Chris- 
tian churches ;  there  is  sufficient  ground  for  it  to  be  gathered 
I'rom  the  Scripture,  and  it  has  been  a  method  which  Christ  has 
owned,  and  greatly  blessed.  It  is  a  duty  incumbent  on  Chris- 
tians to  instruct  their  children,  and  all  others  who  are  under 
their  care,  in  the  doctrinal  knowledge  of  those  truths,  which 
they  have  learned  from  the  Scripture,  which  have  been  the  food 
of  their  souls,  from  the  time  they  were  renewed  by  divine  grace, 
and  the  comforts  of  which  they  have  felt,  in  all  their  soul-exer- 
cises. And,  besides  this,  it  is  exceedingly  profitable  for  young 
persons  to  be  taught  the  principles  of  religion,*  in  a  public 
manner,  by  the  dispensers  of  the  gospel,  who  can,  with  pru- 
dence and  caution,  engage  in  this  work.  It  must  be  owned, 
that  all  the  instruction  we  can  give,  will  not  bring  persons  to 
receive  the  truth  in  the  love  of  it,  if  they  are  left  without  the 
saving  illuminations  of  the  Holy  Spirit:  it  may  enlighten  the 
head,  but  of  itself  it  will  not  change  the  heart.  However  it  is 
of  very  great  advantage,  in  many  respects,  for  those  Avho  are 
in  their  more  tender  years,  to  be  instructed  in  the  doctrines 
taught,  and  in  the  duties  required  in  Scripture.     If  they  have 

*  See  Mr.  Hurrion's  Sermon  on  the  good  of  early  instruction,  p.  11 — 24. 


OF    PRACTICAL    RELIGION.  4G5 

any  good  thing  in  them  towards  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  or  are 
under  religious' impressions,  it  must  be  very  pleasing  and  profit- 
able to  them,  to  have  the  glorious  mysteries  of  the  gospel  unfold- 
ed, and  proved  from  Scripture,  and  to  have  the  duties  required 
of  them,  in  every  relation,  to  be  laid  before  them,  from  the  ora- 
cles of  the  living  God.     If  tliey  are  left  to  themselves,  yet  by 
being  taught  practical  duties,  they  may  be  the  more  civilized, 
may  be  laid  under  a  greater  moral  restraint,  and  may  be  made 
more  useful  members  of  society.     We  cannot  tell  how  soon  the 
Spirit  of  God  may  work  upon  such,  as,  at  the  present,  are  in  a 
state  of  nature ;  and  then  they  will  always  find  it  of  vast  advan- 
tage, to  have  been  instructed  in  the  Christian  doctrines;  they  will 
feel  the  power  of  the  truths,  of  which  they  only  had  a  specula- 
tive notion  before,  and  will  increase  in  knowledge,  as  well  as 
grow  in  grace.     When  a  man  receives  the  truth  in  the  love  of 
it,  he  will  rejoice,  if  his  case  is  such,  that  he  has  not  his  faith  to 
seek,  as  to  the  system  of  it,  and  that  he  is  not  at  a  loss  about  his 
duty,  as  to  knowing  the  matter  of  it.     Such  as  have  been  nour- 
ished up,  as  the  great  evangelist  Timothy  was,  1  Tim.  iv.  6,  "  in 
the  words  of  faith  and  good  doctrine,"  have  always  proved  the 
wisest  and  the  most  useful  Christians.     They  know  their  Mas- 
ter's will,  as  to  faith  and  practice;  and  they  are  most  careful  to 
come  to  it.     It  has  been  an  observation,  and  it  is  very  just,  and 
confirmed  by  experience,  that  such  as  have  been  made  partakers 
of  the  grace  of  God,  who  never  were  instructed  in  the  doctrines 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  have  been  often  very  warm,  sincere, 
and  scrupulous  professors  of  Christianity;  but  they  have  been 
generally  either  hot  and  unsettled,  or  fond  of  advancing  only 
one  truth,  and  uneasy  to  hear  of  any  thing  else  ;  or  ready  to  ad- 
mire all  preaching,  which  is  suited  to  move  the  lower  passions, 
or  else  prone  to  run  into  enthusiasm.     On  the  other  hand,  when 
such  are  converted,  as  have   been  brought  by  instruction  to 
have  a  good  measure  of  knowledge  of  the  peculiar  and  distin- 
guishing doctrines  of  our  holy  religion,  they  have  been  more 
steady  in  their  adherence  to  right  principles,  and  more  regularly 
uniform  in  their  conduct.    We  cannot  but  say,  that  there  has  of 
late  been  too  great  a  neglect,  as  to  the  instructing  of  youth;  and 
we  find  the  sad  consequence  of  this,  in  the  ignorance,  profane- 
ness,  and  conceit,  which  we  may  observe  in  the  rising  generation. 
It  has  been  a  prevailing  custom  among  us,  who  separate  from 
the  national  establishment,  to  make  use  of  the  Shorter  Catechism 
of  the  venerable  Assembly  of  Divines,  who  met  at  Westminster, 
in  instructing  youth.     Of  that  noble  composure  it  may  very 
justly  be  said,  that  for  clearness  of  thought,  for  comprehending 
a  great  deal  in  a  small  compass,  for  treating  of  the  glorious  doc- 
trines of  the  gospel  with  accuracy,  care,  and  caution,  and  for 
speaking  of  them,  in  the  most  just  and  nervous  way,  there  are 
few  human  composures  which  can  be  said  to  exceed  it.     Tliey 

59 


466         OF  THE  CAUSES  OF  THE  DECAY 

who  have  gone  before  us,  thought  themselves  happy  in  having 
such  an  excellent  form  of  sound  words  to  help  them  in  instruct- 
ing such  as  were  under  their  inspection.  But  there  is  a  gene- 
ration now  upon  the  stage,  who  defy  their  fathers  as  precedents, 
because  they  will  not  come  up  with  them  in  honesty,  zeal,  and 
self-denial.  To  declaim  directly  against  a  composure,  which 
had  a  testimony  in  the  consciences  of  all  serious  Christians, 
would  not  have  answered  the  etid  of  such  as  were  weary  of  the 
truths  summed  up  in  it;  therefore  few  who  have  run  into  neu- 
trality and  hike  warmness,  have  ventured  to  say  that  they  looked 
upon  it  to  comprehend  a  heap  of  false  opinions.  They  have 
been  more  artful  in  their  management,  they  have  told  such  as 
would  listen  to  them,  that  the  words  of  Scripture  are  certainly 
the  best;  that  catechisms  should  be  drawn  up  in  the  expressions 
of  the  inspired  writers;  that  if  we  pay  a  regard  to  human  forms, 
to  creeds,  confessions,  and  systems  of  divinity,  framed  by  men 
subject  to  mistake,  we  deny  the  sufficiency  of  Scripture,  and  set 
the  performances  of  fallible  creatures  on  a  level  with  the  words 
of  the  infallible  God.  By  these  insinuations,  they  who  have 
used  them  have  led  many  off  from  all  regard  to  truth  and  practi- 
cal religion.  If  they  had  cried  out  against  any  summary  of  prin- 
ciples apprehended  to  be  Christian,  as  containing  points  incon- 
sistent with  Scripture,  none  would  have  blamed  them,  for  going 
according  to  their  light,  though  we  might  have  taken  the  liberty 
to  have  counted  their  light  darkness;  but  for  men  to  abstract  from 
the  consideration,  whether  the  creeds  and  catechisms,  which 
have  been  in  use,  are  agreeable  to  Scripture  or  no,  and  gravely 
and  solemnly  to  talk  against  them,  and  to  run  them  down, 
merely  because  they  are  human  composures,  as  incroachments 
on  the  sufficiency  of  Scripture,  is  what  contributes  exceedingly 
to  the  increase  of  infidelity.  All  things  composed  by  men  ought 
to  be  tried  by  the  Scripture  standard;  if  they  are  not  agreeable 
to  the  oracles  of  the  living  God,  let  tliem  be  rejected  with  con- 
tempt and  disdain;  but  if  they  contain  just  accounts  of  what  lies 
scattered  in  diti'erent  parts  of  the  book  of  God,  it  can  answer  no 
end  to  run  them  down  as  human  forms,  except  it  be  to  disparage 
that  religion,  on  the  side  of  which  the  composers  of  them  were. 
It  is  said  by  some,  who  have  borrowed  the  pretence  from  the 
Socinians  and  the  Jesuits,  that  it  is  sufficient  for  men  to  assent 
to  the  words  of  Scripture;  and  perhaps  it  might  be  so,  if  there 
were  no  knaves  in  the  world,  and  no  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing 
in  the  church.  Christians  do  not  use  the  caution  they  ought,  if 
tiiey  only  inquire,  whether  a  man  professes  to  own  the  Bible  to 
contain  his  religion;  they  are  principally  concerned  to  be  satis- 
fied how  he,  who  would  thrust  himself  into  their  esteem,  under- 
stands the  words  of  that  which  they  take  for  their  rule  of  faith, 
and  for  their  directory  in  practice;  that  they  may  judge  whether 
he  is  a  disciple  of  Christ  or  not 


OF    PRACTICAL    RELIGION.  467 

In  former  days,  when  the  excellent  summaries  of  Cliristian 
faith  and  practice  were  valued  and  highly  esteemed,  because 
it  was  concluded  they  were  founded  on  Scripture,  practical  reli- 
gion flourished.  But  what  a  disagreeable  turn  have  matters 
taken,  since  we  have  heard  them  run  down,  because  they  were 
drawn  up  by  men?  Some,  who  have  heard  their  guides  rail  at 
them,  and  ridicule  them,  as  human  forms,  and  the  impositions 
of  men,  have  been  induced  to  think,  that  all  the  points  laid 
down  and  summed  up  in  them,  were  human  inventions,  and 
they  have  gone  further  than  their  leaders  intended  they  should. 
They  have  not  only  deserted  the  doctrines  which  their  teachers 
hated,  but  they  have  cast  off  all  regard  to  practical  duties,  and 
have  manifested  the  utmost  contempt  of  public  worship,  and  of 
the  Sabbath.  It  is  greatly  to  be  wished,  that  some  who  have 
been  most  violent  in  railing  against  standing  up  for  controverted 
points,  in  declaiming  against  creeds,  confessions  and  catechisms, 
in  abusing  all  open  declarations  as  to  matters  of  faith,  and  in 
recommending  liceiUiousness  and  lukewarmness,  under  the  false 
names  of  liberty  and  charity,  would  think  what  they  have  been 
doing.  They  have  thrown  down  the  banks,  which  were  raised 
to  keep  out  infidelity  and  error;  and,  seeing  they  have  let  these 
come  in  like  a  raging  sea,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  if  they 
are  not  all  able  to  keep  the  tide  out,  by  opposing  the  palms  of 
their  hands  to  it. 

5.  The  great  cause  of  all  the  present  corruptions  in  practice, 
is  the  contempt  which  has,  for  many  years,  been  cast  on  the 
Holy  Spirit  and  his  operations.  It  has  been  too  common  for 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  be  left  out  in  preaching  upon  duty;  and  it 
has  been  too  general  a  thing  to  neglect  putting  such  as  are 
pressed  to  regard  the  salvation  of  their  souls,  on  keeping  up  in 
their  minds  a  continual  sense  of  their  being  able  to  do  nothing 
aright,  without  his  aid  and  assistance.  Moral  suasion  has  been 
talked  of,  as  being  fit  in  itself  to  bring  men  to  a  sense  of  their 
duty;  and  such  as  are  for  looking  up  for  assistance,  for  aid,  and 
for  consolation  to  the  Holy  One,  are  vilified,  as  persons  fren- 
sied  and  delirious.  We  have  grieved  and  offended  the  Spirit 
of  grace;  and  he,  in  a  great  measure,  is  withdrawn  and  gone: 
and,  since  he  is  absent,  we  find  that  ordinances  are  of  little  use 
to  them  that,  in  a  formal  way,  converse  in  them;  consequently 
it  is  no  wonder  that  he  does  not  regard  the  despisers  of  ordi- 
nances, or  them  who  cast  open  and  avowed  contempt  on  those 
sacred  provisions,  which  it  is  his  office  to  bless. 

It  may,  with  too  much  justice,  be  said,  that  never  was  the 
Holy  Spirit  more  contemned,  and  consequently  more  provoked, 
for  a  long  series  of  time,  by  any  that  have  kept  up  an  external 
profession  of  Christianity,  than  he  has  been  among  us  of  late 
years.  His  Deity  is  by  many  denied,  and  endeavours  are  used 
to  reduce  him  to  the  rank  of  creatures,  nay,  to  make  him  created 
by  a  creature;  and  so  opinionated  persons,  who  would  affect  to 


468        OF  THE  CAUSES  OF  THE  DECAY 

be  dictators,  take  upon  them  to  prescribe  it  as  proper,  to  wor  ■ 
ship  him  directly  only  occasionally,  as  prudence  and  expedience 
may  require,  and  not  to  bind  it  upon  our  own  consciences,  or 
upon  others,  as  a  necessary  tiling:  his  real  personality  is  opposed 
by  some,  and  we  are  told,  by  projectors,  that  he  is  only  a  divine 
power  personified  by  some  idioms  of  speech;  and  our  Lord's 
promise,  which  contained  in  it,  what  he  designed  for  the  com- 
fort of  all  Christians,  since  the  heavens  have  received  him,  as 
to  his  bodily  presence,  that  the  Spirit  of  truth  should  come,  or 
that  the  person  of  his  Spirit  should  make  a  more  plentiful  effu- 
sion of  his  gifts  upon  them,  is  made  nothing  of,  by  this  bold  fig- 
ment, that  our  Lord  described  a  divine  power  by  a  strong  pro- 
sopopeia,  and  a  noble  allegory,  as  a  messenger  sent  from  God: 
it  is  hard  to  say  how  the  blessed  Spirit,  the  Comforter  of  the 
elect  of  God,  could  well  be  more  affronted,  than  in  being  treated 
thus:  great  provocations  are  offered  him,  by  such  as  do  not 
profess  to  run  the  length  of  denying  his  personality  and  divine 
glory;  his  work,  as  a  quickening,  renewing  Spirit,  is  denied^ 
and  what  can  only  be  brought  about  in  the  soul  of  a  sinner,  by 
his  efficiency,  in  enlightening  the  understanding,  bowing  the 
will,  and  purifying  the  affections,  is,  by  many,  ascribed  either 
entirely,  or  in  part,  to  the  free  will  of  man.  How  has  praying 
by  the  Spirit  been  profanely  ridiculed  by  one  sort  of  men! 
And  what  has  been  the  effect?  Fervent  prayer  has  been,  in  a 
manner,  lost  among  them,  and  they  are  given  up  to  a  lifeless 
formality:  but  these  are  not  the  persons  with  whom  we  are 
more  immediately  concerned.  To  come  nearer  home:  what 
contempt  is  cast  on  the  Spirit's  motions,  as  a  Convincer,  an 
Instructer,  and  a  Comforter?  How  is  his  sealing  up  believers 
to  the  day  of  redemption,  or  witnessing  with  their  spirits,  that 
they  are  the  children  of  God,  treated  with  banter  and  grimace? 
How  are  all  that  profess  to  depend  on  his  conduct  exposed,  as 
being  under  the  power  of  enthusiasm,  by  many  who  profess 
Christianity?  What  sneering  folly  do  some  demure  formalists 
show,  when  a  word  is  said  of  his  enabling  us  to  will  and  to  do, 
of  his  good  pleasure  ?  What  is  the  melancholy  consequence  of 
all  this?  The  Comforter  is  much  withdrawn.  Hence  it  arises, 
that  the  work  of  conversion  is  very  much  at  a  stand;  few  are 
now  seen  inquiring  the  way  to  Zion,  with  their  faces  thither- 
ward; and  they  who  have  long  professed  religion,  have  gray 
hairs  increasing  upon  them,  and  are  under  great  decays  and 
declensions.  There  is  no  question  to  be  made,  but  that,  in  these 
times  of  sad  degeneracy,  the  Spirit  revives  some  serious,  zealous 
Christians,  with  his  strong  consolations;  yet  it  must  be  said,  that 
he  does  not  make  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  so  effectual  for 
instruction,  edification,  and  comfort,  to  great  numbers,  as  he 
formerly  did.  Sinners  may  now  be  alarmed  with  the  thunders 
of  mount  Sinai,  and  be  allured  with  the  still  small  voice  from 
the  palaces  of  Zion,  and  yet  they  continue  fearless  and  stupid, 


OF   PRACTICAL   RELIGION.  469 

senseless  and  unaffected.  Professing  Christians  now  often  sit 
before  God  as  his  people,  and  are  found  in  external  perform- 
ance of  ordinances,  and  yet  go  away  as  dull  and  heavy,  as  full 
of  formality  and  deadness,  as  if  they  had  not  been  engaged  in 
them.  The  reason  is,  the  Holy  Spirit  does  not  accompany  the 
word  preached  with  his  blessing,  and  does  not  clothe  his  ordi- 
nances with  power;  he  withdraws  from  us,  whose  presence 
was  the  glory  of  our  assemblies ;  and  he  leaves  us  to  feel  the 
effects  of  our  mad  ingratitude,  in  grieving  him,  in  slighting  his 
motions,  and  in  casting  contempt  on  his  person  and  operations: 
and  if  the  Spirit  departs,  as  a  Spirit  of  conviction  and  comfort, 
it  is  no  wonder  that  we  have  reason  to  complain  of  our  leanness 
and  barrenness  under  the  enjoyment  of  the  best  means. 

APPLICATION. 

1.  Since  we  are  forced  to  say,  if  we  will  be  impartial,  that  we 
are  under  great  decays,  as  to  practical  religion,  let  us  endeavour 
to  have  a  deep  sense  of  our  declensions,  and  of  the  true  causes 
of  them.  We  have  often  been  told,  that  some  reasons  why  reli- 
gion is  weakened,  are  these:  the  people  are  amused  too  much 
with  speculative  doctrines,  and  with  disputes,  and  are  taught  to 
pay  an  unwarrantable  regard  to  human  forms  and  decisions; 
and  it  is  very  likely  that  some  have  worked  themselves  up  to  a 
belief  of  these  insinuations;  but  there  is  matter  of  fact  to  be  set 
against  such  idle  surmises.  Wherever  the  truths  of  the  gospel 
have  been  most  preached,  in  their  purity,  and  where  the  pro- 
fessors of  Christianity  have  been  most  cautious,  as  to  giving 
them  up,  there  has  a  regard  to  strict  serious  religion  most  pre- 
vailed. It  may  be  said,  that  decays  prevail  among  all  sorts 
now;  but  it  must  be  averred,  that  they  who  have  the  highest 
notions  about  the  importance  of  the  controverted  doctrines  of 
the  gospel,  and  who  express  their  value  for  those  forms  of  sound 
words,  which  state  them  safely,  are  the  persons  among  whom 
practical  godliness  flourishes  most.  We  should  strive  tlien  to 
be  sensible  of  the  true  causes  of  our  spiritual  decays;  for  unless 
we  know  from  what  they  proceed,  we  cannot  remember  from 
whence  we  have  fallen,  we  cannot  rightly  repent  of  our  back- 
sliding, and  we  cannot  do  our  first  works;  and,  unless  we  do 
these  things,  we  shall  only  grow  worse  and  worse,  and  shall 
every  day  offer  new  provocations  to  the  great  King  of  the 
church;  and,  if  we  go  on  to  stir  up  his  displeasure  afresh,  his 
patience  may  be  tired  out,  and  he  may  come  upon  us,  to  avenge 
the  quarrel  of  his  covenant,  more  suddenly  than  we  may  expect, 
and  more  severely  than  we  may  imagine. 

Let  us,  when  we  are  sensible  of  the  declensions  which  prevail 
among  us,  examine  what  we  have  done  to  offend  God :  let  us 
not  be  wholly  taken  up  in  accusing  others,  but  let  every  man 


470         OF  THE  CAUSES  OF  THE  DECAY 

among  us  smite  upon  his  breast,  and  say,  What  have  I  done 
towards  promoting  a  general  declension  ?  Let  us  search  into  all 
the  secret  chambers  of  imagery  in  our  hearts ;  aud,  if  we  find 
any  idol  of  jealousy  erected,  let  u.s  immediately  cast  it  down,  and 
destroy  it:  if,  upon  trying  our  spirits,  we  find  we  have  done  any 
thing  to  provoke  God,  let  us  abhor  ourselves  for  it;  let  us  be 
deeply  humbled,  and  really  contrite  for  it,  and  let  us  forsake  it, 
Avith  true  repentance;  let  us  show  noble  examples  of  defensible 
singularity,  in  running  counter  to  general  corruption;  let  us 
stand  up  for  the  truths  of  the  gospel,  when  it  is  fashionable  to 
run  them  down;  let  us  worship  God  according  to  the  pattern 
given  in  his  word,  when  it  is  too  common  to  offer  strange  fire  on 
his  altar;  let  us  not  forsake  the  assembling  of  ourselves  together, 
when  many  teave  the  courts  of  Sion  to  follow  their  pleasures ; 
let  our  houses  resound  with  the  voice  of  prayer,  when  those  of 
others  are  without  having  the  morning  and  evening  sacrifice 
otfered  up  in  them;  let  us  be  shining  examples  of  holiness  and 
purity,  and  stand  at  a  distance  from  insincerity,  when  others 
abound  in  dissoluteness  and  acts  of  fraud:  let  us  bewail  the  sins 
of  others,  which  we  cannot  reform :  when  the  herd  of  ungodly 
sinners  go  on,  without  fear,  to  make  void  the  law,  when  atheism, 
deism,  and  error,  come  in  like  floods,  when  iniquity  abounds, 
and  profaneness  rides  in  triumph,  and  when  professors  have  lost 
their  first  love,  let  us  be  among  the  number  of  them,  who  mourn 
over  the  abominations  which  too  much  prevail ;  let  us  wrestle 
in  prayer  with  God  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  he  would  not  depart 
from  us,  but  that  he  would  still  govern  in  our  hearts,  and  fill 
our  assemblies :  let  us,  with  fervency,  cry,  Come,  Holy  Ghost, 
eternal  God,  look  down  on  the  languishing  state  of  the  Chris- 
tian interest  among  us ;  when  Atheism  and  Deism  break  in 
upon  us,  as  a  raging  sea,  say  thou,  "  Hitherto  shall  you  come, 
and  no  further,  and  here  shall  your  proud  waves  be  staid;'* 
when  errors  and  heresies  rush  in  like  a  flood,  lift  thou  up  a 
standard  against  them ;  cause  the  light  of  truth  to  shine  forth, 
like  the  sun  in  its  full  strength,  to  scatter  the  fogs  and  mists  of 
error;  kindle  the  love  of  professors  that  waxes  cold;  inflame 
them  with  a  pious  zeal  for  the  truth ;  restore  a  spirit  of  peace 
and  true  moderation ;  check  that  profaneness  that  rolls  in  like 
a  mighty  torrent ;  cause  holiness  to  run  down  our  streets  as  a 
river,  and  righteousness  to  glide  through  our  land,  like  a  peace- 
ful stream:  be  to  us  a  refreshing  dew;  cause  our  wilderness 
and  our  solitary  places  to  be  glad,  and  our  desert  to  rejoice, 
and  blossom  as  the  rose;  shed  thy  benign  influences  upon  us; 
that  we  may  grow  as  the  lily,  that  we  may  revive  as  the  corn, 
that  we  may  be  fruitful  as  the  vine,  that  our  beauty  may  be  as 
the  olive  tree,  and  that  we  may  strike  down  our  roots,  spread 
forth  our  branches,  and  rise  in  a  graceful  towering  height,  like 
the  cedar:  be  thou,  0  Comforter,  our  glory,  and  our  defence; 


OF    PRACTICAL    RELIGION.  471 

abundantly  bless  the  provision  of  Sion;  endue  the  ministers  of 
the  gospel  with  righteousness,  and  clothe  the  ordinances  of  the 
sanctuary  with  power;  be  thou  in  the  midst  of  us,  and  then  we 
shall  not  be  called,  Forsaken  and  Desolate,  neither  shall  it  be 
said  of  us,  that  the  glory  is  departed,  but  the  name  whereby  we 
shall  be  called,  shall  be  Jehovah-Shammah,  the  Lord  is  there. 
2.  Since  a  defection  from  the  faith  of  the  gospel  lies  at  the 
root  of  all  our  abominations,  let  us  be  zealous  for  the  truth, 
and  contend  earnest  ti/ for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints. 
In  this  day  of  blasphemy  and  rekuke,  lukewarmness  and  indif- 
ference, we  may  expect  to  have  many  to  weaken  our  hands, 
and  occasion  us  sorrow  of  heart;  but  we  know  little  of  the  state 
of  things  among  us,  if  we  expect  to  have  very  many  to  atford 
us  help,  when  we  are  engaged  in  the  cause  of  the  Lord  against 
the  mighty.     However,  this  ought  not  to  move  us  from  our 
duty;  for  Christ  the  Lord  of  Hosts  is  with  us,  when  we  pleads 
for  his  honour  and  his  truth,  and,  if  our  labours  are  not  crowned 
with  success,  we  have  done  our  duty,  we  have  the  testimony  of 
a  good  conscience,  and  we  have  delivered  our  souls.  Our  blessed 
Lord  declared,  that  in  the  declining  church  of  Sardis  he  had  a 
few  names,  who  had  not  defiled  their  garments,  who  should 
walk  with  him  in  white,  for  they  were  worthy.     Let  us  be 
among  the  happy  few,  who  are  valiant  for  the  truth  in  the  earth, 
that  when  we  appear  before  our  great  Master,  he  may  say  to 
us,  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servants,  enter  you  into  my 
joy;  you  shall  walk  before  me  in  the  white  attire  of  innocence; 
you  have  been  faithful  to  my  cause,  I  will  grace  your  brows 
with  the  diadems  of  immortality."     We  should  consider  that  it 
is  the  noblest  of  causes  in  which  we  are  engaged;  to  contend  for 
our  civil  liberties  against  tyrants,  and  to  strive  for  our  spiritual 
privileges  against  impostors  and  persecutors  is  an  honourable 
contest;  but  this  is  not  what  we  are  called  to  at  present;  we  are 
concerned  in  matters  of  vastly  greater  importance  to  the  well- 
being  of  our  souls,  though  perhaps  not  to  the  quiet  of  our  lives, 
or  the  securing  our  worldly  interest :  we  contend  for  the  su- 
preme honour  of  God,  as  the  Ruler  of  the  world,  and  as  the  uni- 
versal Lav/giver  and  Judge,  against  such  as  would  set  up  moral 
fitnesses  independent  of  him,  and  would  not  be  reckoned  to  be 
made  for  him,  or  to  be  accountable  ^o  him.     W>.  strive  for  the 
perfection  of  Scripture  against  such  as  would  make  natural 
light,  in  our  corrupt  state,  a  perfect  rule.     We  maintain,  that 
Christ  and  the  Holy  Spirit  are  proper  persons,  against  such  as 
represent  them  to  be  powers,  attributes,  or  mere  names.     We 
plead  for  their  divine  glories  against  such  as  would  reduce  them 
to  the  rank  of  creatures.     We  stand  up  for  the  absoluteness  and 
immutability  of  God's  decrees,  against  such  as  would  make  him 
dependent  on  the  creature,  and  alterable  in  his  purpose.     We 
appear  in  defence  of  the  infinite  value  of  Christ's  satisfaction, 


472      OF  THE  CAUSES  OF  THE  DECAY,  ETC. 

and  the  perfection  of  his  righteousness,  against  such  as  would 
put  their  obedience  in  his  room,  or  tack  the  shreds  of  their  crip- 
pled duties  to  the  robe  of  salvation  he  has  provided.  We  stand 
up  for  eflicacious  grace,  and  the  power  of  the  Spirit,  against 
those  who  plead  for  man's  free  will;  and  for  the  final  progress 
of  believers  in  holiness,  against  them  that  would  insinuate  that 
such  as  Christ  died  for  may  be  lost.  We  contend  for  holiness 
against  such  as  abuse  the  doctrine  of  grace  and  turn  it  into  wan- 
tonness; and  for  the  perfection  of  the  law  against  such  as  would 
have  it  abrogated,  or  to  be  of  no  use.  We  argue  for  the  ac- 
tivity of  the  soul  after  death,  for  the  resurrection  of  the  body, 
and  for  a  general  judgment,  against  such  as  would  make  man 
cease  to  be,  sleep  in  the  grave,  live  always  without  his  body, 
and  not  be  accountable  for  his  actions.  This  is  the  honourable 
service  in  which  we  are  engaged;  and  can  such  poor  unworthy 
creatures  as  we  are,  have  a  post  of  greater  dignity?  Let  us  then 
be  never  slothful  or  negligent,  but  let  us  contend  earnestly  for 
the  truth.  We  are  commanded  in  Scripture  to  do  so ;  therefore, 
if  we  are  by  some  blamed  for  infringing  on  peace,  let  us  not 
regard  so  senseless  a  caUimny;  and  if  others  accuse  us  of  taking 
the  Spirit's  work  out  of  his  hand,  let  us  pity  them  for  putting  so 
daring  an  affront  on  Christ,  who  has  commanded  us  to  strive  for 
his  truth,  and  forgive  them  for  throwing  out  such  a  vile  abuse 
against  us.  Let  us  never  be  weary  of  well  doing;  but  the  more 
opposition  we  meet  with,  as  good  soldiers  of  Christ,  the  more 
let  us  contend  for  the  honour  of  our  exalted  Master;  let  us  always 
fight  under  the  banner  of  the  great  Captain  of  our  salvation ;  let 
us  use  no  weapons  but  what  we  fetch  from  the  armoury  of  God, 
and  let  us  leave  the  issue  to  him  whose  cause  we  plead;  and, 
for  our  encouragement,  let  us  consider,  that  he,  under  whose 
conduct  we  strive,  will  support  us  in  our  difficult  warfare,  and 
will,  after  we  have  sweat  in  the  field  of  battle,  as  long  as  he  has 
determined,  give  us  a  quiet  discharge,  and  will  bring  us  to  the 
deathless  realms  of  joy,  where  the  noise  of  discord  will  cease, 
where  we  shall  see  our  Redeemer  as  he  is,  and  where  with 
angels  and  archangels,  we  shall  for  ever  praise  and  adore  him. 

To  the  Father,  to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  three  divine 
Persons,  and  the  one  God,  be  supreme  honour,  glory,  and 
power  ascribed,  in  all  the  churches,  now,  henceforth,  and 
for  evermore.     Amen. 


THE    END. 


